- told U.S. President George W. Bush 8 months before the 2003 invasion of Iraq "I will be with you, whatever",
- and relied on flawed intelligence and legal advice to go to war.
- It strongly criticized Blair on a range of issues, saying
- the threat posed by Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's supposed weapons of mass destruction had been over-hyped
- and the planning for the aftermath of war had been inadequate.
Blair responded
- that he had taken the decision to go to war "in good faith",
- that he still believed it was better to remove Saddam, and
- that he did not see that action as the cause of terrorism today, in the Middle East or elsewhere
The inquiry report, about 3 times the length of the Bible
- stopped short of saying the war was illegal,
- a stance that is certain to disappoint Blair's many critics.
_________________________________________
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-iraq-inquiry-idUSKCN0ZL2TA
