TONY Blair “underestimated” the consequences of waging war in Iraq in a move which led to the rise of Daesh, he admitted yesterday.
The former prime minister conceded the 2003 invasion to topple Saddam Hussain had contributed to the growth of the Islamist terror group at an event in Westminster yesterday.
The long-delayed Chilcot report is expected to be heavily critical of Blair on its release in July.
Yesterday Blair said he failed to appreciate the complexities of the region when he committed British troops to the bloody war, which led to the deaths of 179 service personnel and thousands of civilians.
The ex-Labour leader said: “We underestimated profoundly the forces that were at work in the region and would take advantage of change once you topple the regime. That is the lesson.
“The lesson is simple. It is that when you remove a dictatorship out come these forces of destabilisation, whether it is al Qaeda on the Sunni side or Iran and its militia on the Shia side.”
Blair went on: “To be honest, my understanding of the Middle East is a lot deeper today than it was when I was prime minister.”
Speaking at an event sponsored by Prospect magazine, Blair said the fall of a dictator gives rise to “poisonous forces and influences” and there are “elements of truth” to claims that the fallout from the Iraq war had contributed to the growth of Daesh.
However, he stressed it did not cause its formation and that there had been more than one influence in its development. Repeating his call for a “proper ground war” to defeat Daesh, Blair said: “Airstrikes are not going to defeat Isis. It does not mean it has to be our forces all the time, it could be that our forces are in support.
“But be in no doubt, if you want to defeat these people you are going to have to wage a proper ground war.”
Praising the actions of the US military and other allies, Blair indicated the Iraq war had made it more difficult for the UK to deploy troops abroad:“You can describe it as a legacy or describe it as a fact that arises from the nature of the conflict,” he said.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here