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July 10, 2005

Tony Blair's Blowback

Gary Younge of Guardian Unlimited, in an article in the July 11, 2005 issue that is sure to lead to attacks on him from both sides of the Atlantic, states that, British Prime Minister "Tony Blair is not responsible for the more than 50 dead and 700 injured on Thursday" [July 7, 2005] during four explosions in London. "In all likelihood, "jihadists" are.

But he is partly responsible for the 100,000 people who have been killed in Iraq. And even at this early stage there is a far clearer logic linking these two events than there ever was tying Saddam Hussein to either 9/11 or weapons of mass destruction.
It is no mystery why those who have backed the war in Iraq would refute this connection. With each and every setback, from the lack of UN endorsement right through to the continuing strength of the insurgency, they go ever deeper into denial. Their sophistry has now mutated into a form of political autism - their ability to engage with the world around them has been severely impaired by their adherence to a flawed and fatal project. To say that terrorists would have targeted us even if we hadn't gone into Iraq is a bit like a smoker justifying their habit by saying, "I could get run over crossing the street tomorrow." True, but the certain health risks of cigarettes are more akin to playing chicken on a four-lane highway. They have the effect of bringing that fatal, fateful day much closer than it might otherwise be.
Mr. Younge said, "Similarly, invading Iraq clearly made us a target. Did Downing Street really think it could declare a war on terror and that terror would not fight back?" he asked, adding: "That, in itself, is not a reason to withdraw troops if having them there is the right thing to do. But since it isn't and never was, it provides a compelling reason to change course before more people are killed here or there. So the prime minister got it partly right on Saturday when he said: "I think this type of terrorism has very deep roots. As well as dealing with the consequences of this - trying to protect ourselves as much as any civil society can - you have to try to pull it up by its roots."

For more of Mr. Younge's analysis, see "Blair's blowback."

Posted by Munir Umrani at July 10, 2005 09:31 PM

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