Questions Mr Blair never answered

With roughly a week to go to the General Election only about a week away I am completely mystified as to why Mr. Tony Blair is still the incumbent Prime Minister and Leader of the Labour Party.

Let us remind ourselves once again that Mr. Blair took this country to war with Iraq on the basis that Saddam Hussein was prepared to deploy weapons of mass destruction within 45 minutes. He may have come up later with the idea that removal of this cruel regime was necessary in a wider context, but nevertheless the country and Her Majesty’s Opposition were sold on the WMD issue. The Conservative Party did not just “go along with it” as Charles Kennedy said on the radio this morning; the leadership believed as many of us did that the Government had proof of the existence of these weapons.

Subsequently it emerged that the supposed WMDs were in the form of shells fired from field guns, and the intelligence community had not suggested to Ministers that they were missile-borne and capable of reaching Israel and Cyprus as had been reported by some newspapers.

The Prime Minister then let us know that he did not realise that the alleged WMDs were not missile-borne. Why on earth he did not ask for details from his Defence Secretary and the military intelligence officials? Should not any political leader of a nation make sure that if he is to take the country to war he has been fully briefed on the enemy’s military capabilities? Surely Mr. Blair should have asked his advisers for the fullest justification of his causi bellum.

Lord Carrington resigned from the Government in 1982 over his Foreign Office’s failure to get wind of the Argentinians’ invasion of the Falklands, bearing the responsibility for his Ministry’s failure even though he was not personally responsible for an error of judgement. Of course, Lord Carrington was and is a man of honour. Our Prime Minister led the country to war on false pretences and failed to establish basic facts or even the detail of current intelligence (correct or otherwise) concerning Iraqi weaponery. The British people should ask themselves what this says about Mr. Blair before casting their votes next Thursday.

© Jon Stow 2005