November 17, 2007 (LPAC) -- "I wanted war -- it was the right thing to do" former British Prime Minister Tony Blair states in a new BBC documentary "The Blair Years," the Times of London reported today. Blair told Times reported David Aaronovitch in an interview for the documentary, speaking of that war: "It was what I believed in, and I still do believe it." Blair admitted for the first time, that he ignored efforts by his own advisers and ministers, and U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, to use diplomatic rather than military means to resolve the Iraq situation.
Blair did admit that he regrets publishing the infamous September 2002 dossier, the "sexed up" "45 minutes" dossier of falsified "intelligence" on Iraqi alleged weapons of mass destruction.
Blair said he never used his relationship with the U.S. government of George W. Bush, to try to prevent the military attack on Iraq. Many in the Blair government, including Sir David Manning, his foreign policy adviser, Jeremy Greenstock, Britain's ambassador at the UN, and Jack Straw, then Foreign Secretary, had many reservations about the rush to war. But Blair was committed to war, he said: "In my view, if it wasn't clear that the whole nature of the way Saddam was dealing with this issue had changed, I was in favor of military action."
Blair gave Bush his full assurance of support for war, at their meeting at Camp David in September 2002. Bush said he would try for a second UN resolution, but Blair agreed that if the UN process got "stuck," war was the only way. Bush even called Blair just before the last House of Commons vote on Iraq, offering that the US would go it alone, but Blair wanted Britain in the war.
Bush "was always very cognizant of the difficulty I had," Blair stated. "He was determined we should not end up with the regime change being in Britain, and he was saying to me, 'Look I understand this is very difficult, and America can do this militarily on its own, and if you want to stick out of it, stick out of it,' and I was equally emphatic we should not do that."
