Blair, On Iraq, Embraces 'rovian revisionism' Tighter

'Geopolitical Robin Hood??' Blair bites back, blames Islam for terror, not Iraq war

December 05, 2014 - Former British PM Tony Blair, who is currently the subject of a public inquiry into the Iraq war, claims “radical Islam” is the “key challenge” the West faces today. He said terrorism is inextricably linked to this “dangerous” variant of Islam.

In what may have been a cloaked attempt to distract from the legacy of his government’s impact on crisis-ridden Iraq and Afghanistan, the former PM staunchly defended his decisions while in government.

Currently a Middle East envoy and highly-paid consultant to various authoritarian governments, Blair made the comments during an in-depth interview published by Vanity Fair.

Adopting a somewhat confused logic, he claimed “the reason it was tough in Iraq and tough in Afghanistan is the reason it is tough today.”

“At some point, people will understand that it’s not because of something we’ve done … It’s tough because terrorism is deep-rooted and it’s got very strong causes within the religion of Islam.” read more>>>

* * * Seeds of ISIL Planted By Bush/Cheney and Conservative Congresses * * *

* * * The British Iraq War Inquiry * * * Released will carry private communications between GWBush and TBlair, like this already released: TB said there was a danger the Tories would see this as their chance to get rid of him … Bush said they would make it clear to the Tories that if they moved to get rid of TB "we will get rid of them".

* * * Iraq War Promoted Terrorism Rather Than Reducing It * * * 24 April 2014 - Britain’s involvement in the Iraq War promoted terrorism rather than reducing it and was a “strategic failure”, according to a major new report which estimated the cost of all UK conflicts since the end of the Cold War.
The Royal United Services Institute said the UK could face a bill of nearly £65bn, once the cost of long-term care for injured veterans was factored in, with most of the money was spent on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The study, called Wars in Peace, said both conflicts were largely “strategic failures” for the UK, The Guardian reported."

Facts: Matthew Hoh {former Marine and foreign service officer in Afghanistan}: "We spend a trillion dollars a year on national security in this country."
"And when you add up to the Department of Defense, Department of State, CIA, Veterans Affairs, interest on debt, the number that strikes me the most about how much we're committed financially to these wars and to our current policies is we have spent $250 billion already just on interest payments on the debt we've incurred for the Iraq and Afghan wars." 26 September 2014

Bob Herbert "Losing Our Way" : "And then the staggering costs of these wars, which are borne by the taxpayers. I mean, one of the things that was insane was that, as we're at war in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Bush administration cut taxes. This has never been done in American history. The idea of cutting taxes while you're going to war is just crazy. I mean, it's madness." Bill 'Moyers and Company': Restoring an America That Has Lost its Way 10 Oct. 2014

Chris Hayes MSNBC: "If you can run a deficit to go to war, you can run a deficit to take care of the people who fought it" In response to Republican opposition to expanding Veterans' benefits on fiscal grounds