
Two statements could sum up today’s Iraq Inquiry cross-examination of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair: Ignorance is bliss and hindsight is 20/20.
When the former Prime Minister was pressed about the links between terrorism and Saddam Hussein’s supposed WMD’s, and if they posed a threat to the UK he replied with, “Yes, because for the reasons that I have given, if Saddam, freed from sanctions, was able to pursue WMD programs, I was very sure that at some point we were going to be involved in the consequences of that.”
This is good logic except that he in that logic gives an example of how the UK could minimize this threat. Why would you decide to remove sanctions from Saddam Hussein that could allow him to pursue WMD programs?
However, we could review the logic of his decisions for days, but more importantly we should review his competency. When he was asked, "You weren't aware yourself that you were overstating the intelligence?" he replied with, “Correct”. The former Prime Minister of the UK basically stated that he had no idea what he was doing, and therefore since he did not know the difference between up and down he could not have lied. Lying would consist of knowing that down was down, and then telling everyone that it was up. Tony Blair however thought down was up, and told everyone that down was up. That is not a lie, but instead just deadly ignorance and that should be regarded as a nearly equal crime.
Additionally, Mr. Blair also admitted that the threat posed by Saddam Hussein has been overstated, and that the threat did not increase after 9/11. This is a conclusion he has now come to, but is not what he felt while he was Prime Minister. Hindsight is 20/20.
The problem with these excuses is that they basically allow anyone to get away with anything. Ignorance cannot be an excusable reason for committing crimes, and eventual education cannot be an excuse for not having to face punishment. The public should be able to determine what a person should be able to know and that should justify the punishment. The fact that Mr. Blair knows the error of his ways now, once he is in a position of less influence would imply that he should have known more while he was Prime Minister.
Tony Blair’s logic would be the same as driving your car at 110 mph and then protesting that you should not get a ticket because you were unaware of the speed limit since you were driving so fast that you could not see the signs, yet you currently realize that corrects could have been made and therefore will not do it again. When nearly all of Britain protests your actions, and you have no explanation that proves the wisdom of your acts, then you have obviously done something wrong. You may have been ignorant and you may know that now, but that should never be an excuse or justification for your actions.
You can read more about the Iraq Inquiry at the Times of London.
Unrepentant, unforgiven, Blair says: 'I'd do it again'
Tony Blair was branded a liar and a murderer after his appearance at the Iraq Inquiry, and this is warranted. Ignorance and poor judgment needs to be punished.
Read more at the Times