America Still Hasn't Felt the Weight of the Iraq Disaster

Daniel R. DePetris

Security, Middle East

The Iraq War should have permanently ruined more reputations in DC.

By all objective measures, former prime minister Tony Blair was one of the most successful British politicians in the modern era. He led the Labour Party to three straight general election victories, had an iron grip on his party for a decade and at times carried on as if the Tories were a permanent minority-party nuisance.

The invasion and occupation of Iraq, however, would eventually come crashing down on Blair’s shoulders like an anvil. As Iraq descended into sectarian chaos, as more UK soldiers lost their lives, and as additional information came to light that exposed the flimsiness of the Labour government’s case against Saddam Hussein, a man who was once one of the more popular prime ministers in British history transformed into one of the most reviled. In the nine years since Blair resigned as prime minister, the mistakes and hubris of Iraq have haunted him wherever he goes and whenever he makes a public appearance.

The conclusion of the exhaustive, seven-year investigation into the Iraq war led by Sir John Chilcot must have come as a shock to Blair and the Blairites who continue to serve in the Labour Party. Surely Blair knew that Chilcot’s inquiry would be a hard pill for him to swallow, but even he must have been surprised by the report’s findings. Everything that Blair feared would be included in the inquiry was indeed included: Blair, the report said, dominated the war proceedings and neglected to take dissent into account, overstated the prewar intelligence in favor of a political narrative, was woefully unprepared for an insurgency once Saddam Hussein’s regime was overthrown, and appeared to be committed to a military solution in Iraq months before all diplomatic options were exhausted. Indeed, eight months before the first bombs were dropped on Baghdad, Blair wrote a private letter to George W. Bush that the UK would be with him “whatever.”