Sir Tony Blair, former British Prime Minister admitted that he may have been wrong about the decision to invade Iraq and Afghanistan but remained steadfast in his belief that it was “the right thing to do”, blatantly contradicting himself. Blair spoke with the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby as part of the BBC’s “The Archbishop Interviews” series in which he defended his decision to invade Iraq and Afghanistan in support of George W. Bush. Blair says he did what he believed to be right. “However, whether or not you are right is another issue. If you have to make a big decision, you don’t know what all the different components are, and you’ve got to follow your instincts.”
Blair made the comments after he was named a knight companion to the Most Noble Order of the Garter, Britain’s highest chivalric honor, which is offered only by the monarchy, in the New Year’s Honors list. A petition signed by over a million people has been circulated calling for Tony Blair’s honor to be annulled, with the organizer claiming that “Tony Blair caused irreparable damage both to the United Kingdom’s constitution and to its very fabric.”
There is a specific focus in the petition referring to his actions in the Middle East, writing: “He is responsible for the deaths of thousands of innocent civilians and military personnel during various conflicts throughout the Middle East.” It is for this alone that he is responsible for war crimes.”