Tony Blair says:  “I can say that never did I guess the nightmare that unfolded [in Iraq], and that too is part of the responsibility. The truth is we did not anticipate the role of al-Qaida or Iran.”  How could he possibly not have anticipated the role Iran would play?  Even someone like me wrote about it in an oped piece right about the beginning of the war.  What a breathtaking lack of imagination and anticipation!

Now he wants to repeat the same mistake in Iran.  The west should use force against Iran if it “continues to develop nuclear weapons”, Tony Blair said today, aligning himself with US hawks who have called for strikes against Iranian nuclear sites.  Blair said it was “wholly unacceptable” for Tehran to seek a nuclear weapons capability and insisted there could be “no alternative” to military force “if they continue to develop nuclear weapons”…They need to get that message loud and clear.”

So let’s see after bombing Iran is he going to again say never did I guess the nightmare that unfolded?  Why would anyone listen to this guy ever again?  People who lack imagination and an ability to anticipate and prepare for worst case scenarios like Blair don’t deserve to lead a village let alone to have been prime minister of England and to have had so much power over people’s lives and fates.

Bombing Iran is not the solution.  Cutting off the regime’s access to Iran’s oil income is the answer.

Guardian:  Tony Blair: West should use force if Iran ‘continues to develop nuclear weapons’

The west should use force against Iran if it “continues to develop nuclear weapons“, Tony Blair said today, aligning himself with US hawks who have called for strikes against Iranian nuclear sites.

The former prime minister made his comments in a BBC interview to publicise his memoirs, A Journey, which are published today.

Blair said it was “wholly unacceptable” for Tehran to seek a nuclear weapons capability and insisted there could be “no alternative” to military force “if they continue to develop nuclear weapons”.

Speaking to Andrew Marr in a BBC interview to be broadcast tonight, Blair says: “I am saying that I think it is wholly unacceptable for Iran to have a nuclear weapons capability and I think we have got to be prepared to confront them, if necessary militarily. I think there is no alternative to that if they continue to develop nuclear weapons. They need to get that message loud and clear.”

Guardian:  Tony Blair: I didn’t see Iraq nightmare coming

In an emotional chapter in his memoirs on the Iraq war, in which he admits to shedding many tears at the loss of so many lives, the former prime minister insists that military action was justified and refuses to offer an apology for joining forces with George Bush.

“I can’t regret the decision to go to war,” he writes in A Journey. But he adds: “I can say that never did I guess the nightmare that unfolded, and that too is part of the responsibility. The truth is we did not anticipate the role of al-Qaida or Iran. Whether we should have is another matter; and if we had anticipated, what we would have done about it is another matter again.”

NYT:  Blair’s Memoirs Reveal ‘Tears’ but No Regrets on Iraq

As the United States ends it combat mission in Iraq, Tony Blair, the former British prime minister who deployed troops alongside American forces in the 2003 invasion, said Wednesday that, while there had been many tears over the loss of life, he could not regard the war as a mistake.

Mr. Blair’s latest iteration of his attitude to the conflict — echoing similar arguments during a public inquiry into the war earlier this year — came with the publication of his memoirs, “A Journey.” The book went on sale in Britain the morning after President Obama said in a televised speech Tuesday night from the Oval Office that, with United States forces assuming a support and training mission in Iraq, it was “time to turn the page” after seven years of combat.

Separately, Mr. Blair, in a BBC interview to mark the book’s publication, urged a tough Western approach to Iran’s nuclear program, including possible military intervention, saying it was “wholly unacceptable” for Tehran to seek a nuclear weapons capacity. Iran says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, but many outsiders believe its leaders want to build a nuclear bomb.

“I am saying I think it is wholly unacceptable for Iran to have a nuclear weapons capability and I think we have got to be prepared to confront them, if necessary, militarily,” he said. The interview is to be broadcast later on Wednesday, but the BBC released segments of it earlier.

“I think there is no alternative to that if they continue to develop nuclear weapons,” Mr. Blair said. “They need to get that message loud and clear.”