LONDON - Prime Minister Tony Blair vigorously denied on Wednesday that he misrepresented intelligence about Iraqi weapons before the war, rejecting growing demands in Parliament to apologize for misleading his country.
Blair again accepted that British intelligence pointing to stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons was flawed, but he insisted he had been right to back the U.S.-led invasion.
"I take full responsibility and apologize for any information given in good faith that has subsequently turned out to be wrong," Blair told the House of Commons, in a stormy session dominated by the war.
"What I do not in any way accept is that there was any deception of anyone. I will not apologize for removing Saddam Hussein. I will not apologize for the conflict. I believe it was right then, is right now and essential for the wider security of that region and world."
Tony Blair, just as President Bush did, made the best decisions he could with the intelligence that was put in front of him. Unfortunately the intelligence he got turned out to be not entirely correct. So if anybody should be apologizing it should be the people responsible for providing the Prime Minister with faulty intelligence. Which leads me to wonder why nobody is asking France to apologize for apparently providing Great Britain and the United States with forged intelligence.
Whenever a group of politicians ask another politician to "apologize" all they're looking for is a soundbite. That holds true in this instance. Tony Blair's opponents want him on tape talking about Iraq being a "mistake" so they can use it in the upcoming election.