Blair Defends Iraq War Despite Protests
By BETH GARDINER
Associated Press Writer
Blair says members of parliament can debate the war, but they shouldn't second-guess his decisions leading up to it. (Audio)
LONDON (AP) -- Prime Minister Tony Blair, undaunted by critics but briefly silenced by shouting protesters in the House of Commons, said Wednesday he was proud of his decision to go to war in Iraq, even though weapons inspectors have found less than he expected.
While a new inquiry will examine the prewar intelligence, Blair said only lawmakers and the British people can pass judgment on whether he was right to join the U.S.-led invasion.
"To attempt to subcontract this issue to some committee as to whether it was right or wrong to go to war is not merely wrong, ultimately, it is profoundly undemocratic," he said.
At a Commons debate interrupted by heckling, Blair said inspection teams had turned up evidence showing Saddam Hussein's "total, unrepentant, malignant intent" and his violation of United Nations resolutions - enough to justify the U.S.-led invasion.
"I accept (the inspectors) have not found what I and many others including Dr. (David) Kay confidently expected they would - actual weapons ready for immediate use," Blair said, referring to the former top U.S. inspector in Iraq.
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"But let others accept that what they have found are laboratories, technology, diagrams, documents, teams of scientists told to conceal their work on biological, nuclear and chemical weapons capability, that in sum amounts to breaches of the United Nations resolution," Blair said.
"If all that the (Iraq Survey Group of inspectors) find is all that they have found, ... we would have been irresponsible in the highest degree not to have acted against Saddam and rid him and his loathsome regime from power," he said.
Blair announced an inquiry Tuesday into the quality of prewar intelligence. Pressure for such an investigation grew after Kay said he doubted Iraq had weapons of mass destruction in recent years and President Bush authorized an examination of U.S. intelligence.
Blair spoke at the start of a parliamentary debate on senior judge Lord Hutton's report clearing the government of wrongdoing in the death of a Defense Ministry weapons scientist and the preparation of an intelligence dossier on Iraqi weapons.
Shouts from anti-war protesters in the public gallery interrupted Blair's statement five times, prompting Speaker Michael Martin to order the gallery cleared and suspend proceeding for about 10 minutes.
"Murderer!" shouted one protester. "Whitewash!" yelled another.
Police detained four men and three women. The protesters said they represented a group called Oxford Residents for the Truth.
Blair said the new inquiry will examine the quality of prewar intelligence.
He defended Hutton's report, which cleared his government of allegations it hyped evidence in the September 2002 dossier to justify war and mistreated adviser David Kelly before his July suicide.
Hutton found that the British Broadcasting Corp. was wrong in reporting that Blair's office "sexed up" the dossier and overrode objections from intelligence officials to claim Iraq could deploy biological and chemical weapons within 45 minutes.
"Not a single shred of evidence was presented to his inquiry that would have justified an alternative finding," Blair said.
The BBC quoted an anonymous official later identified as Kelly. Hutton's report prompted the BBC's board chairman and its chief executive to resign, along with the journalist who reported the piece.
The judge's report has been met with skepticism by some Britons and many of Blair's political opponents, who have derided it as a "whitewash" that was too easy on the government and too harsh on the BBC.
Pressing that theme, a handful of protesters dressed in wigs, robes and glasses to look like Hutton splashed white paint on the gates of 10 Downing Street, the site of the prime minister's official residence.
The Metropolitan Police said five people were arrested for criminal damage.
Michael Howard, leader of the opposition Conservative Party, criticized Blair's statements about Defense Ministry officials' leaking of Kelly's name to the public, saying the prime minister had contradicted himself.
Howard, whose party staunchly supported the war, also slammed what he called Blair's quick turnaround on the need for a new inquiry.
"For many months the prime minister has been in denial on the need for an inquiry. He has been the last person ... to change his mind," Howard said.
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