Blair Makes Partial Iraq Apology to Win Back Party

[hadrons]

BRIGHTON, England (Reuters) - Tony Blair (news - web sites) offered his Labour party on Tuesday a partial apology for waging war in Iraq (news - web sites), striving to pull angry supporters behind him ahead of an election next year.

But as two more British soldiers died in Iraq and a hostage remained under threat of death, the prime minister's hopes of drawing a line under two years that have wrecked his public trust ratings are far from secure.


"The evidence about Saddam having actual biological and chemical weapons ... has turned out to be wrong," Blair told Labour's annual conference, his nearest yet to a "mea culpa."


"The problem is I can apologize for the information that turned out to be wrong but I can't, sincerely at least, apologize for removing Saddam," he said. "The world is a better place with Saddam in prison not in power."

Blair's speech was interrupted twice by protesters, one yelling that the prime minister "had blood on his hands," others opposing a planned ban on fox-hunting. They were bundled out of the hall.

.....

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=574&e=11&u=/nm/20040928/wl_nm/britain_blair_dc

I didn't see this anywhere, but if its a dupe I'm sorry ... what's the British word for flip-flopper?

[non sociopath skin]

1. He didn't apologise at all for the war.

He apologised that the WMD info was inaccurate but said, most emphatically,that he DID NOT apologise for "removing Saddam Hussein."

Look at the speech on the Guardian website.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/Politics/labour2004/story/0,14991,1314772,00.html


It's full of non-sequiturs. He stresses the importance of the war against terrorism but makes no links with this and the Iraq war which he accepts as being about "regime change" and different from the war against terrorism which he now claims has spread to Iraq!!

The man remains a Bush poodle. The speech changed nothing.

The Skin

[krkaufman]

5. Exactly. No, Tony, the world is NOT a safer place...

... with Saddam removed from power -- in the timing and manner in which you and your Master opted to do so.

Repeatedly declaring that we're safer doesn't alter the fact that terrorism is on the rise, and that we've alienated the critical Muslim and Arab middle -- the most critical factor in fighting terrorism.

[Worst Username Ever]

2. The word for "flip-flopper" is the same but you

have to hold your pinky finger out from your teacup when you say it.

[aneerkoinos]

3. What apology?

"I CAN apologize for the teenie tiny thing that is the other guys fault ... as in yep, I could if I would but I won't! Nyaah nyaah nyaah!"

[Zorra]

4. Labour better dump Blair immediately or they are going to lose big time.

[sweetheart]

7. that might be a bit strong

They'll lose a super majority, and retain power. What is interesting
is whether the libdems can displace the torys as the primary
opposition... THAT would be great.

Blair will die when we 86 the *-neocons and when australian nixes
howard.

[The_Casual_Observer]

6. actual biological and chemical weapons

As opposed to what kind of weapons?

This is like bush admitting that he has found no "stockpiles" of weapons, implying that there was/is still some other thing like plans or something.

[Jacobin]

10. Mirrored my thoughts precisely

An 'actual' WMD as opposed to an 'imaginary' one?

I mean, WTF

[orpupilofnature57]

8. Tony gone the way of the dodo bird

How could a man of unified world vision,eight year's ago now be so dumbya'd.New world vision, porgies protege just like that KGB cop.
These are the people shaping the planet and for that we should apologize.

[UpInArms]

9. stuff a sock in it, Tony

and go and lick *Co's arse some more you stupid fool.

I hope that you rot in hell.

[struggle4progress]

11. Tony's really hurting the party. eom

[w4rma]

12. C'mon LibDems! (nt)

[Matilda]

13. I watched the speech right through,

and have to say, he's a bloody good speaker.

The mystery is how a man who comes across as intelligent and
articulate (and also humorous) can have made such an unholy mess
of things in Iraq. I can't comment on all his domestic policy,
although I think even there he told one side of the story but there
is another, but on Iraq and Afghanistan he's still fudging the
truth.

My impression was that although he was greeted with applause all
through his speech, there wasn't a great deal of real enthusiasm -
not the sort of reception he got leading up to his first win, or
even the second.

He made one telling joke, about a trade unionist who had told him:
"I've defended you so often, I almost believe myself". And this is
the rub - they will defend him, because who else have they got?
I mean really and truly - there is nobody with the kind of charisma
that guy has - you can hate what he's doing, but have to admire the
style with which he does it.