Blair admits failings in Iraq

[Rocol]

Tony Blair has apparently admitted that the invasion of Iraq by the United States and Britain was a disaster.

The Prime Minister gave the frank assessment of his decision in a TV interview.

Opposition MPs seized on the comment as evidence that Mr Blair has finally accepted that his strategy in the Middle Eastern state had failed.

But Downing Street insisted that Mr Blair's views had been misrepresented and that it was "disingenuous" to portray it as an admission.

During the interview, it was suggested that the West's intervention in Iraq had "so far been pretty much of a disaster".

Mr Blair replied: "It has, but you see what I say to people is why is it difficult in Iraq? It's not difficult because of some accident in planning, it's difficult because there's a deliberate strategy - al Qaeda with Sunni insurgents on one hand, Iranian-backed elements with Shia militias on the other - to create a situation in which the will of the majority for peace is displaced by the will of the minority for war."

A Downing Street spokeswoman said Mr Blair did not believe that the violence in Iraq had been a disaster.

The spokeswoman added: "He was simply acknowledging the question in a polite way before going on to explain his view.

"To portray it as some kind of admission is completely disingenuous."

it's difficult because there's a deliberate strategy - al Qaeda with Sunni insurgents on one hand, Iranian-backed elements with Shia militias on the other

Did he think that they were going to sit back and thank him & Bush, for Invading their Country ??

To portray it as some kind of admission is completely disingenuous

No, we portray it as ' Backpeddaling ' he knows full well he acted illegally, and is now attempting to cover his tracks, gain some public sympathy and save his face when the ' Pull Out ' begins.