Oh, you meant well? That's OK, then

[Denzil_DC]

Never mind that a 2.5-million-word report says Blair was responsible

Like Tony Blair, we were all duped by the intelligence on Saddam Hussein – except for the millions that went on marches, and Nelson Mandela, and France, and the Pope, and the chief weapons inspector, and Robin Cook

The most important thing is Tony Blair insists he made his decision “in good faith”. So it hardly matters that a two-and-a-half-million-word official report finds him responsible for incalculable global carnage, because he says he meant well. It’s just like if you drive the wrong way up the motorway and cause 40 deaths in a pile-up, you haven’t done anything wrong if you thought you were going the right way.

When asked whether he regrets going to war, Blair repeated that he’s not sorry for the overthrow of Saddam Hussein. But that wasn’t the question. It’s similar to Oscar Pistorius answering a question about whether he regrets his decision to shoot by saying “I don’t regret getting rid of that bathroom door, I’d been meaning to get it replaced for months”. In any case, even the man filmed in 2003 smashing Saddam’s statue with a hammer said in an interview: “If I met Tony Blair I would spit in his face.”

Yet there were still MPs who voted for the war, who yesterday claimed the people of Iraq were grateful for Blair’s actions. Maybe they’re right, and spitting in your face is one of those customs that means different things in different countries – when you come back from Iraq drenched in gob it means they adore you.

http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/jeremy-corbyn-iraq-war-chilcot-report-tony-blair-right-important-matter-doing-up-tie-a7125521.html

Political comedian Mark Steel again, on incendiary form.

(Note: The headline is the shorter one that appeared on the print version of the article published in the i newspaper.)

[LeftishBrit]

1. That old saying 'The road to hell is paved with good intentions' has rarely seemed more apt

Or even that other proverb 'Look before you leap'. Why are our recent leaders so singularly lacking in this quality? In the past, our leaders often planned entirely the wrong things, but at least they had plans. These days, our leaders don't seem to have a functioning frontal lobe between them!