Tornado Alley (PROG)

[fuagf]

Britain's Blair says 2003 Iraq invasion played role in Islamic State rise

--it's about time more of the supporters of the Bush invasion came out
of the woodwork, even if the concession is heavily laden with qualification ..

World | Sun Oct 25, 2015 9:20am EDT

LONDON


Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair listens to a question during an appearance at
the 9/11 Memorial Museum in New York October 6, 2015. Reuters/Brendan

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair acknowledged the 2003 invasion of Iraq played a part in the rise of the Islamic State militant group, and apologized for some mistakes in planning the war, in an interview broadcast on Sunday.

Blair's decision to send troops to back the U.S.-led invasion is still a live political issue in Britain, where a six-year public inquiry into the conflict is yet to publish its findings. [ID:nL5N1113IL]

Asked whether the offensive was the principal cause of the rise of Islamic State, which now controls large areas of Iraq and neighboring Syria, Blair said there were "elements of truth" in that.

"Of course, you can't say that those of us who removed (former Iraqi dictator) Saddam (Hussein) in 2003 bear no responsibility for the situation in 2015," Blair told U.S. network CNN.

Critics say the U.S. decision to disband Saddam Hussein’s army after the invasion created a huge security vacuum exploited by al Qaeda, which was eventually replaced by Islamic State.

Some former Iraqi army officers, members of the Sunni Muslim minority which says it has been marginalized by the Shi’ite-led government backed by Western powers, are senior strategists in Islamic State. The Iraqi government says it has not marginalized Sunnis.

Blair said the "Arab Spring" uprisings across the region also affected Iraq, and pointed out that Islamic State had risen out of a base in Syria, not Iraq.

Blair apologized for what he described as mistakes in planning and intelligence before the war and in preparations for would happen once Saddam was removed, but said it had been the right decision.

"We have tried intervention and putting down troops in Iraq; we've tried intervention without putting in troops in Libya; and we've tried no intervention at all but demanding regime change in Syria. It's not clear to me that, even if our policy did not work, subsequent policies have worked better," he said.

"I find it hard to apologize for removing Saddam. I think, even from today in 2015, it is better that he's not there than that he is there."

(Reporting by Kylie MacLellan; Editing by Andrew Heavens)

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/10/25/us-mideast-crisis-blair-idUSKCN0SJ0IE20151025

.. yeah, 'ISIS rose from Syria', heh, course that had nothing to do with the deBaathification
fact and the installation of a Shiite government in Iraq did it, lol .. anyway well done, Tony ..

See also:

The hidden hand behind the Islamic State militants? Saddam Hussein’s.
The raw cruelty of Hussein’s Baathist regime, the disbandment of the Iraqi army after the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, the subsequent insurgency and the marginalization of Sunni Iraqis by
the Shiite-dominated government all are intertwined with the Islamic State’s ascent, said Hassan Hassan, a Dubai-based analyst and co-author of the book “ISIS: Inside the Army of Terror.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/the-hidden-hand-behind-the-islamic-state-militants-saddam-husseins/2015/04/04/aa97676c-cc32-11e4-8730-4f473416e759_story.html

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