The Tony Blair Story

[mumofoneAloneandwell]

Late night with dd - I’ve put it on in the background on +1

is anyone watching? 👀

This is worth a watch.

45 minutes from attack. FFS.

Clinton was interesting. I imagine Blair now has to believe he made the right decision. Chirac's advice about you won't be able to look your son in the eye if you do this probably resonated so he has to believe he made the right decision.

I’m watching on plus one but missed the first 10 mins - was it about 9/11?

haven’t caught up on the thread yet

Yes, it was 9/11 and Afghanistan.

Yes, he was in Brighton about to give a speech to the Trade Unions on the Euro and 9/11 happened live on his tv.

He left Brighton and returned on the train (security advice) to call Bush & made a speech about the world changing.

I bet that even on his deathbed, he'll still claim he did the right thing. Cherie's being very careful about what she says.

IVe got chills watching it now, what an awful time - the speech about the blitz must’ve stoked fears of war on uk soil (7/11 did come later ofc)

I keep expecting him to be apologetic or to offer some hint of regret or perhaps that he may have been wrong but he still burns with the same messianic fervour. I don’t know what to think really.

It doesn't bear thinking about.

Oh paxman 🥺

@Arlanymor Robin Cook (Leader of the House & former Foreign Sec) resigned over Iraq. His resignation speech was pure fire! He was so clever his moniker was "two brains Cook".

Yes but he didn't say anything in the HoC at the time it was debated. And I think it was fairly disappointing that he announced he was leaving his wife from the VIP lounge at Heathrow when they were both due to go on holiday. I'm sure his second marriage to Gaynor Regan is very happy, but he was only thinking with 'one brain' when he treated Margaret like that and it wasn't in his head.

I need to read up on the war - all I know is that it was wrong but I don’t know the stories of soldiers and people on the ground.

how awful for Blair to gamble with their lives and limbs.

"All I know is it was wrong", things are rarely so black and white, and it's very definitely worth reading up on, @mumofoneAloneandwell .
Read about the Marsh Arabs and how chemical weapons were used against them. There were many atrocities. It was a complicated situation.

Agree, I didn’t use the right phrase there

but I am always on the side of people who die because of leaders who themselves don’t go go and fight

@Arlanymor very true about Robin Cook. He was a very arrogant man and somewhat self serving, as his performance in the HoC testifies.

😂 "only thinking with one brain"🤣.
You're not wrong!

Just watched so far. The period of Blair as Prime Minister felt good in Britain up until that point. We had a one year old and I remember watching the twin towers fall as I woke her from her nap. I was terrified of WW3. I think he was too far in to back down. Yes Sadaam was a bad apple but look what followed in terms of terrorism in Europe.

I know what you mean, and I take your point, but I think this situation, and Brexit and (dare I say it) Palestine, get reduced and simplified so that much evidence, context and nuance gets lost.

Nobody mentioned oil.

I've not watched yet - but has Donald Dewar been in any of it? I was mesmerised by his voice!

Who’s the guy that asked the question, with the curly hair and bald top?

Not so far. He died in 2000, but I don't recall seeing him in the contemporary footage.
There were certainly a lot of Scots in the Blair government 💪

I'm well past expecting him to ever do that publicly. But I would love to know what goes through his head in the middle of the night.

I remember during the 05 election when the father of a soldier who died in Iraq stood as an independent for Blair's seat. He lost (to TB) but made a speech that Tony stood and listened to impasssively. I 'd have burnt with shame in the same position.

A quick Google found it, the man's name was Reg Keys, his son Tom died in 2003. This was his speech: 'I hope in my heart that one day the prime minister will be able to say sorry, that one day he will say sorry to the families of the bereaved,'.