Blair offers justification for Iraq war

LONDON (AP) - An unrepentant Tony Blair defended his decision to join the United States in attacking Iraq, arguing Friday before a panel investigating the war that the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks made the threat of weapons of mass destruction impossible to ignore.

The former British Prime Minister said that before Sept. 11 he thought "Saddam was a menace, that he was a threat, he was a monster, but we would have to try and make best."

The attacks on New York and Washington changed everything, he said.

"After that time, my view was you could not take risks with this issue at all," he said.

This is Britain's third and widest-ranging investigation of the conflict, which triggered huge protests and left 179 British troops dead. The British military withdrew from Iraq last year.

It is not intended to apportion blame or hold anyone liable for the conflict. But it could embarrass American and British officials who argued — wrongly — the war was justified because Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein was developing weapons of mass destruction and building ties with al-Qaida.

Blair appeared somber as he began his scheduled six hours of testimony. He grew feistier as the day went on, gesturing, smiling and, at times, correcting what he saw as the flawed questions of panel members. The audience in the hearing room included family members of soldiers and civilians killed or missing in Iraq — all of whom sat quietly as he testified.

Emotions ran higher outside, where demonstrators chanted and read the names of civilians and military personnel killed. Some 150 protesters shouted "Jail Tony" and "Blair lied — thousands died," as police officers looked on.

The five-member panel pressed Blair on when exactly he offered U.S. President George W. Bush support for an invasion. Earlier witnesses claimed he promised it in 2002, more than a year before Britain's Parliament approved military action.

Former British ambassador to Washington Christopher Meyer told an earlier hearing that an agreement had been "signed in blood" by Bush and Blair during a meeting at the president's ranch in Crawford, Texas, in April 2002.

"The only commitment I gave — and I gave this very openly at the time — was a commitment to deal with Saddam," Blair said. He said military options were discussed, but said he told Bush that Britain wanted to exhaust diplomatic routes before an invasion was considered.

Blair said he had not been determined from the outset to remove Saddam Hussein.

"The absolutely key issue was the WMD issue," not regime change. But he added that "if necessary — and there was no other way of dealing with this threat — we were going to remove him."

Blair said other world leaders did not share his and Bush's enthusiasm for confronting the WMD threat, even after the Sept 11 attacks.

"Although the American mindset had changed dramatically — and frankly mine had as well — when I talked to other leaders, particularly in Europe, I didn't get the same impression."

Blair acknowledged that the decision to join the war — which led to the largest public protests in a generation in London — had met with opposition in the country, and in his own Cabinet.

"The one thing I found throughout this whole matter from a very early stage is that I was never short of people challenging me on it," Blair told the panel.

The former British leader arrived at the conference center in darkness shortly before 0700GMT (0200EST) Friday, dodging demonstrators by entering the conference center through a cordoned-off rear entrance.

"Blair should not be here giving his excuses for the illegal war, he should be taken to The Hague to face criminal charges because he has committed crimes against the Iraqi people," said protester Saba Jaiwad, an Iraqi who opposed the war.

Blair, now envoy to the Quartet of Middle East peacemakers, used his appearance to offer a warning about the West's handling of Iran's nuclear program. He said concerns that terrorists could gain access to weapons of mass destruction had been deepened by Iran's pursuit of nuclear arms.

"I hold this fear stronger today than I did back then because of what Iran is doing," Blair told the panel. "A large part of the destabilization in the Middle East today comes from Iran."

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Associated Press Writer Gregory Katz contributed to this report.