"We'll negotiate a withdrawal from the EEC... which has drained our natural resources and destroyed jobs".In June 1991, he said:
"You can measure how well you are doing by the number of invitations you get to address businessmen."In 1992 he first intoned the famous mantra:
"Tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime".He had fleshed out this sentiment somewhat by the time the 1993 Labour Party Conference came along, saying:
"Labour is the party of law and order in Britain today. Tough on crime and tough on the causes of crime."In 1994, Blair said:
"The Thatcher-Reagan leadership of the 1980s got certain things right."And:
"I would expect ministers in any government I lead to resign if they lied to parliament."In April 1995, Tony B gave the rest of us a clue as to whose side he was on when he said:
"She was a thoroughly determined person and that is an admirable quality. It is important in politics to have a clear sense of purpose and direction, to know what you want. I believe Mrs Thatcher's emphasis on enterprise was right".In October 1995, he said:
"I didn't come into politics to change the Labour Party. I came into politics to change the country."In December, he addressed the Jewish Board of Deputies' annual President's Dinner, spoke of his and his party's 'very deep' links with Jewry and called for vigilance against the rise of Nationalism.
In January 1996, Tony B said:
"New Labour does not believe it is the job of government to interfere in the running of private business."In March 1996, he told us all that his 'project' would never be completed:
"My project will be complete when the Labour party learns to love Peter Mandelson."At the 1996 New Labour Party Conference in Blackpool, Tony B said:
"The Jewish community's principles are... precisely those things for which Labour stands today... The renewal of our ties with the communities is one of the best things that has happened to us."He also said:
"Ask me my three priorities for Government, and I tell you: education, education and education."In December 1996, he described the Scottish press thus:
"Unreconstructed wankers".In December 1996, he also lauded Edwina Currie's bill which sought to lower the age of homosexual consent to 16 from 18:
"At present, the law discriminates... The argument... advanced to justify that discrimination and its attendant tragedy is that it is necessary for the protection of young people. Without it, it is said, young men unsure of their sexuality may be preyed upon by older homosexuals and induced to become homosexual when they otherwise would not... I do not believe that sexuality is determined by persuasion... the real objection is not reason but prejudice... It is precisely at this moment that we should have the courage to change...In January 1997, TB said this:
Fifty years ago there were no laws against racial intolerance... That is the moral case for change tonight."
"New Labour is pro-business, pro-enterprise... Our aim all the way through is to win another term. And the only way that will be done is by running for office as New Labour and governing as New Labour. That is the key to their business relationship".That same month, Blair said:
"European societies are... multicultural and multi-ethnic, and their diversity, as reflected by the range of different culture and traditions, is an enriching and positive factor".Asked if he ever gave money to beggars, he replied:
"I don't, no".In April 1997, he said:
"One reason I changed the Labour Party is so that we can remain true to our principles."That same month he was interviewed by David Dimbleby. In part, this was said:
TB: "New Labour is very much what I believe in. It's very much my own creation... ... there is no point going back over the past. There is a different world today... I repeat to you... it is very important that people understand. We are not going to turn the clock back... We are not going back to the past...
When I became leader of the Labour Party, we re-wrote the Labour Party's constitution to put a commitment to private enterprise alongside that of social justice. We've changed our relations with the trade unions".
DD: "You haven't been in politics very long, and only a decade ago, you were talking about hobnail boots trampling on the rights of trade unionists, pernicious bills to control trade unionists. Now you say, oh we were wrong in the 70s... we've changed it all now... That was what you believed in. You defended it with the same passion that you defend the changes you're making now."
TB: "Times have moved on. I mean, David, we can sit here arguing about what happened in the 1970s and early 80s... We created New Labour. We call it New Labour precisely in order to be honest with people about the changes that have been made. We recognise, I recognise throughout this election, there are certain things the Conservatives got right in the 1980s, and we should have been quicker to face up to that."During the 1997 election campaign Blair said:
"People want honest politics and they are going to get it."On election night in May 1997, he said:
"I feel a deep sense of responsibility and humility. You put your trust in me and I intend to repay that trust. I will not let you down."That same month, he said:
"Mine is the first generation able to contemplate the possibility that we may live our entire lives without going to war or sending our children to war."And:
"The people are the masters. We are the servants of the people. We will never forget that."What you have to remember, ladies and gentlemen, is this: politicians are the worst of us.
They will say anything to get into power and, once there, they'll say anything to keep it.
In October 1997, TB said:
"We cannot be a beacon to the world unless the talents of all the people shine through. Not one black High Court judge, not one black Chief Constable or Permanent Secretary; not one black army officer above the rank of colonel. Not one Asian either.He also said:
Not a record of pride for the British establishment. And not a record of pride for Parliament, that there are so few black and Asian MPs."
"I want the 21st century to be the century of the radicals".And:
"For business, this will be a Government on your side not in your way."In November 1997, after the Bernie Ecclestone affair, Tony Blair actually apologised, saying:
"I didn't get it all wrong, but it hasn't been handled well and I apologise for that."In May 1998, he said:
"This is no time for sound bytes, but I feel the hand of history on my shoulder."In June 1998, Tony B said:
"The (Millennium) dome will be good for Britain... for our self-confidence; a symbol of Britains creativity and imagination, a showcase of the best of British. Everyone who has been involved in this project can be truly proud."In June 1998, Tony B said this in the House of Commons:
"I was delighted to be part of the Windrush celebrations. I agree entirely with what my hon. Friend (Oona King) says about the nature of our society and the desire to see it as a multicultural, multiracial society. She will know that in the Crime and Disorder Bill, which is presently before the House, there are new measures to deal with violence that is racially motivated and aggravated...In November 1998, he said:
We will certainly apply both that law and the existing provisions under the law to make sure that we root out any racism and any violence wherever we can.
I think that this country is proud of the changes that we have made over the past number of years... That is the type of country I wish to bring my children up in. I think that it is the type of country that the vast majority of British people believe in."
"Now, with the Americans, we are looking at ways to bolster the opposition and improve the possibility of removing Saddam Hussein altogether."In November 1998, TB said this, having just bombed Baghdad flat:
"The world's a safer place tonight!"In January 1999, Blair said this:
"No one, least of all me, ever said that our general election manifesto was the limit of our ambitions."He also said:
"Make no mistake, this government has embarked on a radical shift in the balance of power in this country."In April 1999, Tony B said this at the Chicago Economic Club:
"We are all internationalists now, whether we like it or not. We cannot refuse to participate in global markets...The our-will-not-yours mentality of the elite globalist had been glimpsed before this but the naked totalitarian was, for the first time, seen here in all his bossman glory.
On the eve of a new Millennium we are now in a new world. We need new rules for international co-operation and new ways of organising our international institutions...
Today the impulse towards interdependence is immeasurably greater... Any Government that thinks it can go it alone is wrong. If the markets don't like your policies they will punish you... It has to be an international system... That means accepting the judgements of international organisations even when you do not like them...
War is an imperfect instrument for righting humanitarian distress; but armed force is sometimes the only means of dealing with dictators...
We have learnt Big Government doesn't work, but no Government works even less... We don't believe in laissez-faire. We are reinventing or reforming Government itself... we are internationalists."
In April 1999, TB also said:
"This is a conflict we are fighting not for territory but for values, for a new internationalism."In June 1999, the Blair-Schroeder Manifesto was released.
In part this said:
"The essential function of markets must be complemented and improved by political action, not hampered by it... a framework that allows market forces to work properly is essential...In September 1999, TB said this at the New Labour Party Conference:
For the new politics to succeed, it must promote a go-ahead mentality and a new entrepreneurial spirit at all levels of society...
The importance of... business enterprise to the creation of wealth has been undervalued...
The labour market needs a low-wage sector in order to make low-skill jobs available...
Assess all benefit recipients, including people of working age in the receipt of disability benefits".
"The 21st century will not be about the battle between capitalism and socialism but between the forces of progress and the forces of conservatism."In December 1999, he said this:
"The two million Muslims in Britain are an inspiration to us all and we can learn much from you."In April 2000, employing the royal 'we', Blair remarked:
"We have absolutely no desire to be treated like the royal family."In July 2000, he said this:
"One day, yes, one day, there will be a black Prime Minister."At a Downing Street press briefing in 2001, Blair said:
"I'm the Prime Minister and I don't lie."In May 2001, Tony Blair described the May Day protests thus:
"It is not idealism. It is idiocy. It is not protest, it is crime."In the same month he said:
"There are groups of people who feel very strongly that we've betrayed what the Labour party stood for. They will not be pleased with the government. But... when I go round I meet a lot of party members who are absolutely delighted that... they have a Labour party that believes in business enterprise."In June 2001, he described those who protested at the World Trade talks thus:
"These protests are a complete outrage. World trade is good for people's jobs and people's living standards. The protests and people who indulge in the protests are completely misguided."In September 2001, Blair said:
"We know, that they (the Iraqis) would, if they could, go further and use chemical, biological, or even nuclear weapons of mass destruction. We know, also, that there are groups of people, occasionally states, who will trade the technology and capability of such weapons. It is time that this trade was exposed, disrupted, and stamped out. We have been warned by the events of 11 September, and we should act on the warning."On 12 September 2001, he said:
"This is not a battle between the United States of America and terrorism but between the free and democratic world and terrorism. We therefore here in Britain stand shoulder to shoulder with our American friends in this hour of tragedy and we, like them, will not rest until this evil is driven from our world."In October 2001, TB said this:
"I have long believed this, interdependence defines the new world we live in... This is the politics of globalisation ... globalisation is a fact".In the same month he said:
"The state of Israel must be given recognition by all".And:
"Globalisation is a fact... ... we celebrate the diversity in our country, get strength from the cultures and races that go to make up Britain today... JEWS, MUSLIMS AND CHRISTIANS ARE ALL CHILDREN OF ABRAHAM... This is the moment to bring the faiths closer together... The Kaleidoscope has been shaken. The pieces are in flux... let us re-order this world around us".And:
"The biggest drugs hoard in the world is in Afghanistan, controlled by the Taleban. Ninety per cent of the heroin on British streets originates in Afghanistan. The arms the Taleban are buying today are paid for with the lives of young British people buying their drugs on British streets. That is another part of their regime that we should seek to destroy."In November 2001, Tony Blair cuddled up to Britain's big business thus at his meeting with the CBI:
"The partnership we have tried to build with you over these past four years is one I am deeply committed to. It is a founding principle of New Labour and it will not change."In December 2001, Tony Blair said:
"The reason we have refused to say whether Leo has had the MMR vaccine is because we never have commented on the medical health or treatment of our children...In April 2002, TB said this:
The suggestion that the government is advising parents to have the MMR jab whilst we are deliberately refraining from giving our child the treatment because we know it is dangerous is offensive beyond belief... It is not true that we believe the MMR vaccine to be dangerous or that it is better to have separate injections, or believe that MMR is linked to autism."
"Saddam Hussein's regime is despicable, he is developing weapons of mass destruction, and we cannot leave him doing so unchecked. He is a threat to his own people and to the region and, if allowed to develop these weapons, a threat to us also."In the same month he said:
"I think it is vitally important that people who believe in democracy, who loathe those policies of racism and narrow-minded nationalism, fight it at every level, politically, organisationally, and culturally."In May 2002, he said:
"In GM crops I can find no serious evidence of health risks".In June 2002, he said:
"Britain must have controlled immigration. We need 150,000 immigrants a year... to look after us in our old age."In July 2002, he justified the sale of arms to Israel thus:
"The fact is if we don't supply those parts someone else will... Once you start saying that you are not going to supply parts to the United States on the basis that these weapons might be sold at some point to Israel or indeed to any other country, I'm afraid the practical reality is not that the parts wouldn't be supplied, but that you would find every other defence industry in the world rushing in to take the place that we had vacated."In August 2002, TB said this:
"There is no meeting of minds, no point of understanding with such terror. Just a choice: Defeat it or be defeated by it."In September 2002, he said this in the House of Commons:
"It [the intelligence service] concludes that Iraq has chemical and biological weapons, that Saddam has continued to produce them, that he has existing and active military plans for the use of chemical and biological weapons, which could be activated within 45 minutes, including against his own Shia population; and that he is actively trying to acquire nuclear weapons capability."In the same month, in the foreward to the 'Dodgy Dossier,' Blair said:
"What I believe the assessed intelligence has established beyond doubt is that Saddam has continued to produce chemical and biological weapons, that he continues in his efforts to develop nuclear weapons, and that he has been able to extend the range of his ballistic missile programme."He then said this about the dossier in the House of Commons:
"The document published today is based, in large part, on the work of the Joint Intelligence Committee... in light of the debate about Iraq and Weapons of Mass Destruction, I wanted to share with the British public the reasons why I believe this issue to be a current and serious threat to the UK national interest...In the same month Blair said:
Despite his denials, Saddam Hussein is continuing to develop WMD, and with them the ability to inflict real damage upon the region, and the stability of the world...
What I believe the assessed intelligence has established beyond doubt is that Saddam has continued to produce chemical and biological weapons, that he continues in his efforts to develop nuclear weapons, and that he has been able to extend the range of his ballistic missile programme...
The picture presented to me by the JIC in recent months has become more not less worrying. It is clear that... the policy of containment has not worked sufficiently well to prevent Saddam from developing these weapons.
I am in no doubt that the threat is serious and current, that he has made progress on WMD, and that he has to be stopped.
Intelligence reports make clear that he sees the building up of his WMD capability, and the belief overseas that he would use these weapons, as vital to his strategic interests, and in particular his goal of regional domination. And the document discloses that his military planning allows for some of the WMD to be ready within 45 minutes of an order to use them...
Unless we face up to the threat... we place at risk the lives and prosperity of our own people...
The UK Government has been right to support the demands that this issue be confronted and dealt with...
It is an 11-year history, a history of the UN will flouted, lies told by Saddam about the existence of his chemical, biological and nuclear weapons programmes...
Saddam's weapons of mass destruction programme is active, detailed and growing. The policy of containment is not working. The weapons of mass destruction programme is not shut down. It is up and running.... The intelligence picture... is one accumulated over the past four years. It is extensive, detailed and authoritative...
With what we know and what we can reasonably speculate, would the world be wise to... do nothing, to conclude that we should trust not to the good faith of the UN weapons inspectors but to the good faith of the current Iraqi regime? I defy anyone to say that would be a responsible course to follow.
We know, again from our history, that diplomacy, not backed by the threat of force, has never worked with dictators and never will. The threat of Saddam and weapons of mass destruction is not American or British propaganda... Disarmament of all WMD is the demand. One way or the other it must be acceded to."
"The key characteristic of today's world is interdependence... Internationalism is no longer a utopian cry of the left; it is practical statesmanship."And:
"When dealing with dictators, and none in the world is worse than Saddam, diplomacy has to be backed by the certain knowledge... that behind the diplomacy is the possibility of force being used. I say to you... if we do not deal with the threat from this international outlaw and his barbaric regime, it may not erupt and engulf us this month or next; perhaps not even this year or the next. But it will at some point".And:
"In today's inter-dependent world, a major regional conflict does not stay confined to the region in question".And:
"The greatest challenge of our age is globalisation. Tremors in one financial market cause the ground to move round the world. Capital is footloose, fancy-free but also intensely vulnerable to changes in consumer fashion. Industries spring up and fall back. Some corporations, in their desperation to satisfy investors, bend or break the rules, collapsing confidence across the globe. Meanwhile employees often feel powerless, victims not beneficiaries of globalisation."In October 2002, Tony B said:
"We've never been more interdependent in our needs... Globalisation and technology open up vast new opportunities...In the same month he said this:
Internationally, we need a new global partnership, that moves beyond a narrow view of national interest... Interdependence is obliterating the distinction between foreign and domestic policy...
Interdependence is the core reality of the modern world. It is revolutionising our idea of national interest. It is forcing us to locate that interest in the wider international community...
The 20th Century was a century of savage slaughter, insane ideology, and unparalleled progress... with globalisation, a new era has begun".
"Caution is often born of common sense, a great British trait... But there are times when caution is retreat and retreat is dangerous. Now, at the start of the 21st Century, is a time for reaching out...And:
My vision of Britain is not as the 51st state of anywhere, but I believe in this alliance and I will fight long and hard to maintain it... For Britain to help shape this new world, Britain needs to be part of it. Our friendship with America is a strength".
"I have learnt this in 5 years of government. The radical decision is usually the right one. The right decision is usually the hardest one. And the hardest decisions are often the least popular at the time."And:
"Why shouldn't our best hospitals be free to develop their services within the NHS as foundation hospitals? Why shouldn't there be a range of schools for parents to choose from: from specialist schools to the new City Academies, to faith schools...And:
Why shouldn't good schools expand or take over failing schools or form federations?... Why shouldn't nurses prescribe medicines or order x-rays? Why shouldn't classroom assistants and IT specialists be every bit as important as teachers in the future?"
"I know the plight of the farming community. It is serious... We are putting more money into it than the rest of British industry combined... it's time this money is used to reform farming so that it has a future, rather than to prop up the failed practices of the past."And:
"I will tell you why I am passionate about reform... Let me spell it out... We need to change the system."In November 2002, TB sent this message to Sadaam Hussein:
"Defy the UN's will and we will disarm you by force. Be in no doubt whatever over that."He also said this:
"We have no quarrel with the Iraqi people... We want you to be our friends and partners."In January 2003, Tony B said this:
"Saddam has continued to develop these weapons of mass destruction... using a whole lot of dual use facilities in order to manufacture chemical and biological weapons... I've got no doubt at all that he's developing these weapons and that he poses a threat... I think that when America is taking on these tough and difficult questions our job is to be there".He also said this:
"I think that it is right that we are prepared to take action if necessary in respect of Saddam's regime. It is right because weapons of mass destruction, the proliferation of chemical, biological, nuclear weapons and ballistic missile technology along with it, are a real threat to the security of the world and this country...And this:
The truth is that this issue of weapons of mass destruction is a real threat to the world... the threat is real and if we do not deal with it the consequences of our weakness will haunt future generations."
"We should remain the closest ally of the US... We are the ally of the US not because they are powerful, but because we share their values. I am not surprised by anti-Americanism; but it is a foolish indulgence. For all their faults... the US are a force for good".And this:
"When, as with Iraq, the international community through the UN makes a demand on a regime to disarm itself of WMD and that regime refuses, that regime threatens us... America should not be forced to take this issue on alone. We should all be part of it... when the US confront these issues, we should be with them".In February 2003, the day after a million and half people protested against the looming war in Hyde Park, Tony Blair said this:
"I read the anti-war sites and listen to the protesters and I realize that they haven't a clue, or worse, they just don't give a damn."In the same month, Tony B also said this:
"Saddam in charge of Iraq, his WMD intact... This is not a road to peace but folly and weakness that will only mean the conflict when it comes is more bloody, less certain and greater in its devastation...Iraq was wealthier than Portugal and Malaysia before the Yanks and the UK began bombing the f*** out it.
Let us not forget the 4 million Iraqi exiles, the thousands of children who die needlessly every year due to Saddam's impoverishment of his country - a country which in 1978 was wealthier than Portugal or Malaysia but now is in ruins, 60% of its people on food aid."
Over and over again. For twelve long years. From the time when the left Iraq in 1991 to the time when they went back in in 2003.
Tony Blair knew that when he said what he said above. Blair also said this:
"Saddam in charge of Iraq, his weapons of mass destruction intact, the will of the international community set at nothing, the UN tricked again, Saddam hugely strengthened and emboldened - does anyone truly believe that will mean peace?"And:
"The intelligence is clear: (Saddam) continues to believe his WMD programme is essential both for internal repression and for external aggression. The biological agents we believe Iraq can produce include anthrax, botulinum, toxin, aflatoxin and ricin. All eventually result in excruciatingly painful death."
And this:
"Every time I have asked us to go to war, I have hated it."And this:
"At every stage, we should seek to avoid war."And this:
"I continue to want to solve the issue of Iraq and weapons of mass destruction through the UN".And this:
"Why do I press the case so insistently... I have given you the geo-political reason - the threat of Weapons of Mass Destruction and its link with terrorism. And I believe it."Blair also said this:
"More teachers, more nurses, more police. That is what you get from a Labour Government."In March 2003, Tony Blair said this in the House of Commons:
"We are asked now seriously to accept that in the last few years, contrary to all history, contrary to all intelligence, Saddam decided unilaterally to destroy those weapons. I say that such a claim is palpably absurd."In the same month, he also said:
"If we don't act now, then we will go back to what has happened before and then the whole thing begins again and he carries on developing these weapons and these are dangerous weapons, particularly if they fall into the hands of terrorists who we know want to use these weapons if they can get them."On the day the war began, Tony Blair said this to the British people:
"Tonight British servicemen and women are engaged from air, land and sea. Their mission: to remove Saddam Hussein from power and disarm Iraq of its weapons of mass destruction...In April 2003, Tony Blair said this:
This new world faces a new threat of disorder and chaos born either of brutal states like Iraq armed with weapons of mass destruction or of extreme terrorist groups. Both hate our way of life, our freedom, our democracy...
Some say if we act we become a target...
Removing Saddam will be a blessing to the Iraqi people... I hope the Iraqi people hear this message. We are with you... We shall help Iraq move towards democracy. And put the money from Iraqi oil in a UN trust fund so that it benefits Iraq and no-one else."
"Before people crow about the absence of weapons of mass destruction, I suggest they wait a bit. I remain confident they will be found".In May 2003, Tony Blair said this:
"We regard the United States as our allies and partners. We are proud of what we have achieved together against tyranny and in defence of freedom, most recently in Iraq... The United States is not wrong but right to be tough in dealing with them. We must support the United States".In the same month he also said this:
"The belief that Europe is something done to us, that everyone else spends their time ganging up on us, is a belief fit for a nation with an inferiority complex."And this:
"The idea that we authorised or made our intelligence agencies invent some piece of evidence is completely absurd."And this:
"I have said throughout and I just repeat to you, I have absolutely no doubt at all about the existence of weapons of mass destruction, and rather than speculating, let's just wait until we get the full report back from our people who are interviewing the Iraqi scientists".In June 2003, Tony B said this:
"There are literally thousands of sites. As I was told in Iraq, information is coming in the entire time, but it is only now that the Iraq survey group has been put together that a dedicated team of people, which includes former UN inspectors, scientists and experts, will be able to go in and do the job properly."In July 2003, Tony B said:
"Let us wait and see... let us actually allow this Iraq Survey Group to get going and to do their work... The Iraq Survey Group that is the group charged with going and finding the evidence of these programmes is only just beginning its work now...That same month Tony Blair said this:
I have no doubt whatever that in the end these people will talk to us about the programmes and we will have the evidence of those programmes... I have absolutely no doubt that we will find evidence of weapons of mass destruction programmes... My view is that I am very confident they will find the evidence that such programmes existed and that Saddam was developing them but tried to conceal them."
"As I have said throughout, I have no doubt that they will find the clearest possible evidence of Saddam's weapons of mass destruction."And this:
"Let me... express my gratitude to President Bush. Through the troubled times since September the 11th changed our world, we have been allies and friends. Thank you, Mr. President, for your leadership... Our new world rests on order... Europe must take on and defeat the anti-Americanism".And this:
"The state of Israel should be recognized by the entire Arab world, and the vile propaganda used to indoctrinate children, not just against Israel but against Jews, must cease."And this:
"The ending of Saddam's regime in Iraq must be the starting point of a new dispensation for the Middle East... Iran and Syria, who give succour to the rejectionist men of violence, made to realize that the world will no longer countenance it".And this:
"Being American means being free."And this:
"Our job is to be there with you. You are not going to be alone. We will be with you in this fight for liberty... the world will be with us."In August 2003, Tony Blair said these things to the Hutton enquiry:
"The question of whether we produced intelligence, though, was a very, very difficult question. I mean, on the one hand it is not normal for you to do this...In September 2003, Tony Blair said this:
I think that we described the intelligence in a way that was perfectly justified... There was absolutely no reason for us to doubt that intelligence at all".
"We have won a magnificent victory in Iraq."In December 2003, he said this:
"I don't concede it at all that the intelligence at the time was wrong... I have absolutely no doubt at all that we will find evidence of weapons of mass destruction programmes."He also said this:
"The Iraq Survey Group has already found massive evidence of a huge system of clandestine laboratories, workings by scientists, plans to develop long range ballistic missiles."In January 2004, Tony Blair said this:
"I don't think it's surprising we will have to look for them. I'm confident that when the Iraq Survey Group has done its work we will find what's happened to those weapons because he had them."He also said this:
"Repressive states are developing weapons that could cause destruction on a massive scale."And this:
"What you can say is that we received that intelligence about Saddam's programmes and about his weapons that we acted on that... I remember having conversations with the chief of defence staff and other people were saying well, we think we might have potential WMD find here or there. Now these things didn't actually come to anything in the end."In February 2004, Tony B said this:
"I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that the intelligence was genuine. It is absurd to say in respect of any intelligence that it is infallible, but if you ask me what I believe, I believe the intelligence was correct, and I think in the end we will have an explanation."In March 2004, TB said this:
"From September 11th on, I could see the threat plainly. Here were terrorists prepared to bring about Armageddon... who saw WMD as a means of defending themselves against any attempt external or internal to remove them...He also said this:
The global threat to our security was clear. So was our duty: to act to eliminate it. First we dealt with Al Qaida in Afghanistan... then we had to confront the states with WMD.
We had to take a stand... We know now, if we didn't before, that our own self interest is ultimately bound up with the fate of other nations...
The best defence of our security lies in the spread of our values...
If it is a global threat, it needs a global response, based on global rules... It is a new type of war... It forces us to act even when so many comforts seem unaffected, and the threat so far off".
"We should do all we can to spread the values of freedom, democracy, the rule of law, religious tolerance.. however painful for some nations that may be... at the same time, we wage war relentlessly on those who would exploit racial and religious division to bring catastrophe to the world".On 27 April 2004, as ten more countries prepared for EU membership, Tony Blair made his most immigrant-friendly speech to the pro-immigration, Big Business bigwigs of the CBI.
He said, in part:
"Those who warned of disaster back in the 1960s and 1970s if migration was not stopped, who said Britain would never accept a multi-racial society, have been proved comprehensively wrong...In June 2004, Tony Blair grudgingly admitted that there were no WMD in Iraq:
Britain as a whole is immeasurably richer - and not just economically - for the contribution that migrants have made to our society."
"Although I was confident that those weapons existed last year, I have to accept that they have not been found. However, let me tell my hon. Friend that there is clearly no doubt at all that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction...In the same Month Tony B said:
It is also true that we have not found weapons of mass destruction in Iraq... I simply say to my hon. Friend that it is sensible to wait for the outcome of the work of the Iraq survey group, but I certainly do not accept in any shape or form that Iraq was not a threat to the region and the wider world.
I repeat again what I have said on many occasions-I believe that the world and this country are safer without Saddam Hussein in power...
I have to accept the fact that we have not found them...
Whether they were hidden, or removed, or destroyed even, the plain fact is he was undoubtedly in breach of United Nations resolutions... a lot of people they will say 'Saddam Hussein is an evil person. You got rid of an evil person, that is fine'."
"What is true about (ex-Iraq Survey Group head) David Kay's evidence, and this is something I have to accept, and is one of the reasons why I think we now need a new inquiry - it is true David Kay is saying we have not found large stockpiles of actual weapons."In June 2004, Tony Blair said the following things at the annual luncheon of the Labour Friends of Israel group:
"It is good to be among friends... Your community is a beacon on so many core issues, standing for compassion and human rights and freedom...In July 2004, Tony Blair said this:
LFI brings Labour's message to the Jewish community and stands up for Israel, while also recognising the needs of the Palestinians. I feel strongly about Israel and admire its many achievements...
Britain will remain a friend to Israel in tough times and good. Both countries believe in liberty, democracy and the rule of law and share a determination never to give in to the terrorists that threaten our way of life...
It is all too easy to blame Israel and disagree with its policies... What concerns me is that the conflict in the middle east is used to fuel anti-Semitism in Britain. I will not tolerate this...
A stable Iraq will be good news for Israel...
For the sake of middle east stability Israel cannot remain the region's only democracy...
I assure you that nothing this government does will put your religious freedoms at risk. I will safeguard your religious rights."
"We both agreed Saddam was a threat, we both still think Saddam was a threat... Let's concentrate on making Iraq better".He also said:
"What we also know is we haven't found them in Iraq, now let the survey group complete its work and give us the report... They will not report that there was no threat from Saddam, I don't believe."He also said this:
"I have to accept, as the months have passed, it seems increasingly clear that at the time of invasion, Saddam did not have stockpiles of chemical or biological weapons ready to deploy".And this:
"I have searched my conscience, not in the spirit of obstinacy, but in genuine reconsideration in the light of what we now know, in answer to that question. And my answer would be that the evidence of Saddam's WMD was indeed less certain, less well-founded than was stated at the time."And this:
"For any mistakes made, as the report finds, in good faith, I of course take full responsibility. But I cannot honestly say I believe getting rid of Saddam was a mistake at all."And this:
"Had we backed down in respect of Saddam, we would never have taken the stand we needed to take on WMD, never have got progress on Libya."And this:
"We went to war to enforce compliance with UN Resolutions... Our primary purpose was to enforce UN resolutions over Iraq and WMD".And this:
"Though we know Saddam had WMD; we haven't found the physical evidence of them in the 11 months since the war. But in fact, everyone thought he had them".And this:
"Everything about our world is changing: its economy, its technology, its culture, its way of living. If the 20th century scripted our conventional way of thinking, the 21st century is unconventional in almost every respect. This is true also of our security".And this:
"I called for a doctrine of international community, where in certain clear circumstances, we do intervene, even though we are not directly threatened... in an increasingly inter-dependent world, our self-interest was allied to the interests of others".On 18 February 2005, Tony Blair said this:
"I've been a very, very strong supporter of the Jewish community and of Israel, and will always be so... We have been staunch supporters of Israel, staunch defenders of the Jewish community and aggressively against any form of racism".On 23 February 2005, Tony B said this:
"There has not been a bigger supporter of the state of Israel than this Government and this Prime Minister."Which is probably the most truthful thing an inveterate liar has ever said.
On 4 March 2006, Tony B said this on Parkinson when questioned about his decision to take the UK to war with Iraq:
"In the end, there is a judgement that, I think if you have faith about these things, you realise that judgement is made by other people... and if you believe in God, it's made by God as well."All God's fault, then.
Nothing to do with him.
On 26 January 2006, Tony B Liar said this:
"The Holocaust was a uniquely terrible event in human history. We are the last generation who will be able to hear directly from its survivors and liberators. We must ensure their testimony does not die."Responsibilty of all of us?"
We must remember, too, those individuals who stood out against this tide of evil, who risked everything in the name of humanity. We must reflect as well that intolerance, hatred, even genocide, did not end 60 years ago.
Holocaust Memorial Day underlines both our duty to remember the horrors of the past and the responsibility of all of us to shape the future so they are never repeated."
As opposed to the responsibility of the Chosen Few and their glossy factotums?
Keep taking the tablets, Tony.
And the wages. Speaking of which...
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