A year ago he was hauled before the Chilcot inquiry in London to answer questions about decisions made in the run up to the war in Iraq in 2003. Today former British Prime Minister Tony Blair has been there again to fill in some āgaps in his evidenceā
So far today we have learnt that Tony Blair privately assured US President George Bush āyou can count on usā in the run-up to the Iraq war. And that he disregarded a warning from his legal adviser Lord Goldsmith that attacking Iraq would be illegal without further UN backing because it was āprovisionalā. Itās also been revealed that a year before the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, Tony Blair told his chief of staff the West should be āgung-hoā on toppling Saddam Hussein.
And finally he concluded his evidence by saying he ādeeply and profoundly regretsā the loss of life in Iraq. His words were met with cries of ātoo lateā from the public gallery.
The Guardianās Gary Younge tweets:
āBlair says he has no regrets sending troops to Iraq but does regret loss of life there. What did he think the troops were going to do?ā Here are the key points to come out of todayās evidence.
So after four hours of cross examination, do you feel Tony Blair has now answered his critics? What more would you have wanted to hear? And if the inquiry decides Tony Blair is to blame for some of the mistakes made - what then?
Your comments
Comment sent via Feed
18:56
113631290
Ali in Jordan called to say: The whole stigmatisation of Muslims is from a fear of not knowing. But i have to disagree with the comment that the muslim world is fragmented. Every country has its own council which runs Islam in that country. There is some form of organisation.
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18:46
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Charles emailed the Ö÷²„“óŠć: This kind of analysis is not Islamophobia, it's just facing up to reality, even if many moderate Muslims don't choose to acknowledge it to 'unbelievers' - they need to to help themselves.
Comment sent via YOURSAY
18:37
113631290
Mr Parkas in the UK emailed the Ö÷²„“óŠć: Baroness Warsi wants to ban ordinary people from discussing their natural concerns about the growing influence of this medieval alien culture that is being forced upon us. In case she hadn't noticed we are at war with Muslims in Afghanistan because of the terrorism that they inflict upon the world.
Comment sent via Facebook
18:36
113631290
Ehi posts on Facebook: Islamophobia is caused by racism, media hype and arm-chair critics who are too lazy to carry out any investigation or research.
Comment sent via Facebook
18:36
113631290
Park in Korea posts: The silence of moderate Muslims are to blame. If they spoke up against the atrocities then there would not be so much Islamophobia.
Comment sent via Facebook
18:35
113631290
William posts on Facebook: It seems that Islamophobia is a result of the 9-11 attacks and all that has occurred since, in regard to things done and said by Muslim Extremists since.
Comment sent via host
18:32
113631290
We''re moving on to talk about Baroness Warsi''s comments that Islamophobia has become acceptable in the West. But who is to blame for it? Post your comment here.
Comment sent via SMS
18:25
116280341
I thimk this enquiry will be nothing if it ended without anybody being prosecuted,from ALPHA,GHANA.
Comment sent via SMS
18:20
116280341
Why is it only Mr.Blair facing enquiries and not Mr.Bush Who defy da world nd lead Mr.Blair to go to da war,from ALPHA,GHANA.
Comment sent via SMS
18:18
116280292
If tony blair was an african leader, he wud be in icc custody coz of defyn international law. The war he engaged in did more bad than good.
Nelson- Uganda.
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18:18
113631290
Walter in Sierra Leone emails: I think Tony Blair took an appropriate decision for that moment. The world needs such leaders with firm conviction in a constantly changing world.
Comment sent via YOURSAY
18:10
113631290
Alex in Finland contacted the Bbc website to say: This "inquiry" is set up to fail. I am appalled at Tony Blair's actions which have made British expats targets for criticism throughout the world. He will never seek the forgiveness of the British people.
Comment sent via YOURSAY
18:10
113631290
James Baldwin from Glasgow writes: Tony Blair always says there are "two views" - which simply boils down to his view and not his view.
Comment sent via Facebook
18:08
113631290
Kurt from South Africa: Tony Blair was a strong Prime Minister and did the right thing with Iraq. I hate the war and loss of life but he had no choice. As a South African, I remember the days of the ANC bombings on civilian targets and it was terrible! Give the man a break - he was one of the best leaders this country has had in some time!
Comment sent via host
18:06
113631290
On air now. First we''ll be talking about Tony Blair''s second appearance in front of the Chilcot Inquiry into the Iraq war. What did you think of it? Has your opinion of Mr Blair changed? Post your thoughts and comments here.
On air: Tony Blair, your reaction to his evidence
| Friday, 1 Jan. 2011 | 18:00 - 19:00 GMT
A year ago he was hauled before the Chilcot inquiry in London to answer questions about decisions made in the run up to the war in Iraq in 2003. Today former British Prime Minister Tony Blair has been there again to fill in some āgaps in his evidenceā
So far today we have learnt that Tony Blair privately assured US President George Bush āyou can count on usā in the run-up to the Iraq war. And that he disregarded a warning from his legal adviser Lord Goldsmith that attacking Iraq would be illegal without further UN backing because it was āprovisionalā. Itās also been revealed that a year before the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, Tony Blair told his chief of staff the West should be āgung-hoā on toppling Saddam Hussein.
And finally he concluded his evidence by saying he ādeeply and profoundly regretsā the loss of life in Iraq. His words were met with cries of ātoo lateā from the public gallery.
The Guardianās Gary Younge tweets:
āBlair says he has no regrets sending troops to Iraq but does regret loss of life there. What did he think the troops were going to do?ā
Here are the key points to come out of todayās evidence.
So after four hours of cross examination, do you feel Tony Blair has now answered his critics? What more would you have wanted to hear? And if the inquiry decides Tony Blair is to blame for some of the mistakes made - what then?
Your comments
Comment sent via Feed
Ali in Jordan called to say: The whole stigmatisation of Muslims is from a fear of not knowing. But i have to disagree with the comment that the muslim world is fragmented. Every country has its own council which runs Islam in that country. There is some form of organisation.
Comment sent via YOURSAY
Charles emailed the Ö÷²„“óŠć: This kind of analysis is not Islamophobia, it's just facing up to reality, even if many moderate Muslims don't choose to acknowledge it to 'unbelievers' - they need to to help themselves.
Comment sent via YOURSAY
Mr Parkas in the UK emailed the Ö÷²„“óŠć: Baroness Warsi wants to ban ordinary people from discussing their natural concerns about the growing influence of this medieval alien culture that is being forced upon us. In case she hadn't noticed we are at war with Muslims in Afghanistan because of the terrorism that they inflict upon the world.
Comment sent via Facebook
Ehi posts on Facebook: Islamophobia is caused by racism, media hype and arm-chair critics who are too lazy to carry out any investigation or research.
Comment sent via Facebook
Park in Korea posts: The silence of moderate Muslims are to blame. If they spoke up against the atrocities then there would not be so much Islamophobia.
Comment sent via Facebook
William posts on Facebook: It seems that Islamophobia is a result of the 9-11 attacks and all that has occurred since, in regard to things done and said by Muslim Extremists since.
Comment sent via host
We''re moving on to talk about Baroness Warsi''s comments that Islamophobia has become acceptable in the West. But who is to blame for it? Post your comment here.
Comment sent via SMS
I thimk this enquiry will be nothing if it ended without anybody being prosecuted,from ALPHA,GHANA.
Comment sent via SMS
Why is it only Mr.Blair facing enquiries and not Mr.Bush Who defy da world nd lead Mr.Blair to go to da war,from ALPHA,GHANA.
Comment sent via SMS
If tony blair was an african leader, he wud be in icc custody coz of defyn international law. The war he engaged in did more bad than good. Nelson- Uganda.
Comment sent via YOURSAY
Walter in Sierra Leone emails: I think Tony Blair took an appropriate decision for that moment. The world needs such leaders with firm conviction in a constantly changing world.
Comment sent via YOURSAY
Alex in Finland contacted the Bbc website to say: This "inquiry" is set up to fail. I am appalled at Tony Blair's actions which have made British expats targets for criticism throughout the world. He will never seek the forgiveness of the British people.
Comment sent via YOURSAY
James Baldwin from Glasgow writes: Tony Blair always says there are "two views" - which simply boils down to his view and not his view.
Comment sent via Facebook
Kurt from South Africa: Tony Blair was a strong Prime Minister and did the right thing with Iraq. I hate the war and loss of life but he had no choice. As a South African, I remember the days of the ANC bombings on civilian targets and it was terrible! Give the man a break - he was one of the best leaders this country has had in some time!
Comment sent via host
On air now. First we''ll be talking about Tony Blair''s second appearance in front of the Chilcot Inquiry into the Iraq war. What did you think of it? Has your opinion of Mr Blair changed? Post your thoughts and comments here.