Newsnight Special February 2003 - Tony Blair Jeremy Paxman Iraq
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- Newsnight Special February 2003 - Tony Blair Jeremy Paxman discuss the imminent invasion of Iraq following Colin Powell's presentation of evidence to the the UN the day before. Contains a remarkable exchange (at 45:20) when Paxman asks if he and Bush pray together...
People may hate Blair,Major,Thatcher,Cameron but they didn’t duck interview’s and hide in a fridge
wow couldn't imagine Truss or Sunak putting themselves through this
Of course not or scamoron and blonde mongrel .sweet if you think the media is pro Tory as they sing from the same book now
Plus they both , as in Tories and labour voted for it
Last time a leader in uk was given a hard grilling over a new thing , C19 , lock downs , jabs and war in middle east and Ukraine ? They are in consensus , that's why .
none of the present numpties would think to ask - riddled with the poison of self censorship
Those are neo blairites
Fascinating video. Everyone is saying he lied, but there's more to it than that. He had decided that we would be with the Americans, and he presented and sold to us the case and the evidence to support that. Unfortunately he declined to present the counter arguments, and that bit of caution that keeps us out of the way of things that can go badly wrong.
oh my God I've been looking forever for this episode
Could you imagine the chancer we've got in charge now doing this with paxman and a audience
i think more people should acknowledge this comment. whether you agreed with blair or not, he had the conviction to make the case in the cauldron with Paxman and a live audience. The treasonous Johnson would never dare justify his decisions in front of a journalist, let alone a live audience.
you can't compare Boris to Blair .
Blair was a high level communications machine , he was an expert in clever deception and double speak , he was projecting power like no other prime minister
Alex Johnson would have the media 190 % on his side say for going to war with Ukraine .
I was just 23 at the time. Busy playing computer games. Even I turned round to my TV as soon as Iraq was mentioned at the beginning of all this and said out loud “Iraq? ...what the hell has Iraq got to do with any of this?”
The trouble with tony Blair is that he truly believed and continues to believe his own propaganda.
Don't ALL politicians do anyways? And some NON-politicians as well?
That’s not true
Last time I told the truth I believed myself too
Watching this now is both comical and sad. The idea of them posing a threat to us was nonsensical. We went to war because we were lied to, it cost us an unbelievable fortune and tens of thousands died. Bravo Blair, bravo!
Josh Charlie The sad thing is: He remains unpunished and the grieving parents will have to suffer their sons or daughters loss and the death of millions in Iraq and elsewhere.
Josh Charlie As the audience member said, high-time they got rid of Saddam. 12 bloodstained and torturous years of living at his permission and fancy.
***** The US at the time and the US now are two very different entities. It's no good becoming hostage to history... Plus, it's far better to blame individual decision makers rather than a whole nation
+Momchil92 Yes talk your idiotic talk. Your leader have always been like it. I just cant believe that if a leader does something wrong why their follower do not resist him. Is only the leader to blame?
+Momchil92 Yes talk your idiotic talk. Your leader have always been like it. I just cant believe that if a leader does something wrong why their follower do not resist him. Is only the leader to blame?
Thanks for sharing - sheds light on a lot of the issues that are still relevant and toxic for the world today. (I remember watching this at the time.)
And today
im was a criminal barrister and i'm telling you, the most dangerous clients were those who looked you in the eye and without flinching could run up a lie after lie!
TB took a massive massive gamble - everything on 32 black
Landed on 31 red
R.I.P Dr David kelly
When you look back on this, the lies were so obvious. The only question is the motivation, I don't think we'll ever know. The pay cheques from JP Morgan may shed light on the real truth how we were duped.
@wildebest What does JP MOrgan have to do with Iraq?
Grow up ffs
Jesus. And no one was punished for this crime.
Nobody believed him yet he still took our country to war. What's the point in government representatives when they don't represent the public. What's the point in the government?
A small minority they do .Now on woke stuff , majority
Should have had a referendum
Why should any sober person believe anything he said?
I can’t believe how anyone thought he was not laying and voted for him in 2005 as well
Its hard not to think about how many lives were lost between the time of this interview and now.
He was almost always in favour of following public opinion; public opinion thinks he is a criminal, he should stand trial.
No it doesn't. www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/tony-blair-war-criminal-iraq-trial-convicted-yougov-british-people-uk-prme-minister-wmds-dossier-george-w-bush-a7870341.html
Apart from on this issue 😢
He is avoiding eye contact. Very good interviewee
21:40 absolute comedy gold:
“MP for Texas North”
“Mr Vice President”
“Bush comes to shove”
Couldn’t stop laughing at this 🤣
Brilliant
Clearly not very educated
Blair is such a convincing liar , he has even convinced himself with his own lies .
He's a sociopath!
He’s not a liar!
Paxman is absolutely brilliant how even after Blair answered the question about whether him and Bush pray together he stayed unmoved 😂
Where is that part exactly here Daniel? Can't find it!
@@chrismchugh7122 45:20 onwards 😂😂😂 its brilliant how Paxman remains ice cold even after Blair tries to laugh it off - ‘why do you smile?’
It is remarkable that in a democracy like the UK's the Press can hold conferences like this where members of the general public can directly confront the political leader and the mass population can assemble to organise massive protests throughout the world and those in power can still give the go-ahead on a decision approved by themselves and almost no one else in the general public.
According to Blair himself, protesters simply can't determine the outcome of a decision alone.
It was approved by Parliament, at the time of the War opinion polls showed the majority of the public supported action, yes their were large demonstrations, but they were still the minority and 9 out of thee 11 major newspapers supported the war. This idea that he was alone in his beliefs are somewhat revisionist.
9:25 - listen to this glorious two minutes! its prophetic!
Whether or not you agree with the Iraq War or not, it is almost fact that domestically Blair has been one of the best Prime Ministers we've had. Look at education and minimum wage as examples of that. Also, if you say he's a war criminal then you need to learn what that means.
Yeah at the cost of another countries oil
Yes, let's look at his record.
Apart from the deceitful and unnecessary Iraq war launched under a false pretext and for what?
We also have:
* House building shrank to record lows
* Manufacturing wilted
* Welfare spending went up by 60%
* Uncontrolled immigration
* Light touch regulation of the financial services, that ended well, didn't it?
* Private finance initiatives
* Rewriting GP's contracts to much more generous terms
* Blair's third way - fling money at the public sector
* Gordon's pension tax
* No more boom and bust - now just bust. Their good buddy, Fred "The shred" Goofwin having caused the largest corporate bailout ever in UK history.
End of the New Labour project resulted in a structural deficit of around £160 billion a year with the failed attempt of hilarity from Liam Byrne quipping that there was no money left.
Blair is a first class, highly articulate moron. The Blair / Brown / Bush tenure will go down as the most disastrous ever in modern, western politics.
And the great, British public kept these idiots in power for three terms. Bye bye Britain.
most of thats due to thatcher ruining the economy
His volatile audience can make you feel sympathetic.
I thought the audience behaved quite well actually
They'd be on his side today
We will miss you Jeremy.
Get this man on trial for war crimes. Seriously.
I was born two days before this
If somebody tells the same lies long enough it becomes their own truth
The US used Agent orange on Vietnam and Cambodia. The US used White Phosphorus, Depleted Uranium and Cluster Bombs on Iraq. US pilots confessed to the use of Chemical and Biological weapons on North Korea in the Korean war.
Monsanto
well said , Americas mantra is
Do as we say not as we do .
If you look closely you can see oil in tony Blair’s eye.
wildebest I’m trying my best
wildebest lol
Proves Korea was going to be a future target right here, look what u see now on the news. Yep Korea. These wars will go on for a long time. You'll get Iran will be a target and Syria next. Sick of all the wars and the people on this planet dying when we should be as one
49:10 'I do really believe it. I may be wrong in believing it, but I do believe it' - there is no way a person with that attitude can be persuaded to act any differently. All one can do is stop them from acquiring a position of power.
It's just a real shame that he got into power, which then allowed his narcissism to cause so much death.
Millions of innocent children, women, old people have been unjustly killed. Countless people have become homeless. What was their crime? How to end the grief? Can you give them back their lives? How do you sleep at night? How long will this ability last? How to answer this question to God.
British RAF first bombed Iraq 1922. Says it all.
9:51 boom! The major Freudian slip(s) at 38:10
He is completely right, even though the public does not support him
In this interview on several occasions, Paxman already seems rather suspicious of Tony Blair and that the PM is either hiding something or not telling the whole truth.
"I will be with you, whatever."
Respect to Paxman for pushing Blair on the Christianity angle. There are Christians who actively WANT to see wars kick off in that region because they believe it fulfils biblical prophecy and ushers in the end-times. Bush and Blair were clearly determined from the outset to have this war, and there was no compelling real-world reason for it. Paxman clearly suspected religious beliefs might be driving it. I was inclined to agree at the time, and still suspect that the belief they were doing god's work was their primary motivation for war.
Iraq is now a hell-hole with over half a million dead since the war (invasion) started in 2003. Well done Tony Blair! I'm sure the elite have given you a much deserved pat on the back!
***** Yeah, Saddam was not a great guy or anything, but at least people were living better than they are now.
***** So now you are saying the invasion was a good thing. Make your mind up.
***** Have you read your first comment or were you being sarcastic? Because there is video evidence of very happy people in Iraq living normal lives before the invasion.
***** Obviously you would find some people happy with the Americans at the time. but it still doesn't disguise the fact that millions of Iraq civilians perished in what is one of the most unpopular wars in history. How can you say that ISIS was starting before Saddam was toppled? That is absolutely nonsense considering that some members of Saddam's party are now ISIS leaders themselves. Saddam would have crushed ISIS before they even got a foothold in Iraq if ex-members of his administration went rouge. ISIS bred out of the Iraq invasion plain and simple.
***** ha ha countless less popular wars throughout history. Yeah, so that makes it okay then? Plus, you read an old death toll article. It is more like 500,000 deaths, and this is from university researchers in the United States, Canada and Baghdad in cooperation with the Iraqi Ministry of Health. Let's not pretend that the occupation was motivated by anything other than war-profiteering and further dominance in the Middle-East. Like I said ISIS would have been crushed before it even got a foothold then. The destabilization in that area made it possible and extremely easy for ISIS to take control. You just sit there and gloss over everything and listen to the biased views of your military friend. Good for you.
Blair is a liar ... That is merely the truth !
He was hell bent on war
WHAT A SALESMAN- He's Got Answers for every questions- LIAR LIAR LIAR!!!
He SHOULD be charged for GENOCIDE!!!
"We are a terrorist threat" - Tony Blair
Iraq 🇮🇶 War is Britain Vietnam it never mentioned
Amazing. I cannot believe I won the class debate for the war on Iraq and I cannot believe I beat all those anti-war people.
Thank God really for Blair. Teaches us a lot about hypocracy, dissembling, conniving and Machavellian techniques. Unthought through and badly concieved ideas. What not to do in short. A tragic figure frankly.
Best PM we had in a long time 1997.. 2007 best years
And the most honest too
The war was however a major mistake
I remember watching this.Knew he was exaggerating the threat then but never imagined scale of deception.
11:32 ''And the fact is he (Saddam Hussein) is the one power in this world that has actually used chemical weapons against his own people.'' A protocol to the 1980 Convention on Conventional Weapons bans the use of white phosphorus as an incendiary weapon against civilian populations or in air attacks against enemy forces in civilian areas. None of this has ever evoked a word of condemnation from Washington or Israel’s European allies, much less a call for Israel to get rid of its chemical weapons, sanctions or a threat of a military assault to defend the victims of Israel’s military might. Indeed, the US has funded Israel’s armed forces to the tune of $3 billion a year for years, and last year voted to increase this support.
Fast forward 2020 same government same old lies
the woman at 10:03 makes a really good point
I bet most of these people still voted Labour in 2005
wildebest How the fuck he got a 66 majority af te r the war I’ll never know.
@@chelseaking1735 weak opposition
@Mr Spoon quite possibly,, I meant weak in terms of charisma,, media gamesmanship etc.,, which obviously shouldn't matter but unfortunately it does
@@chelseaking1735FPTP
Very clear from strong interviewee and audience for a no and pm just trying to get through the episode
I remember watching this and getting really angry. He didnt put a proper case at the time. Watching it now it makes me very sad. Awful man : Blair.
Tony looks blood thirsty in this interview
Well that interview didn't age well Tony,.
War criminal. Period.
“Either there making the whole thing up or simply this is what there telling me as prime minister”…he’s right, what can he do and i think he had suspicions
War criminal.
Junior lieutenant to the US no less - who are the greater criminals.
'Intelligence' ... Oh the irony.
For all Tony Blair did wrong, I feel Gordon Brown as a Prime Minister was underrated. He had to deal with the MP's expenses scandal & a global economic crisis, which would have decreased the popularity of any Prime Minister. Derp.
you are a tosser ! Expenses. Blair's regime killed millions. What the Fuck does expenses have to do with shit !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!? My god you people are sick !
Brown was heavily blackmailed, he has been outed as a paedophile and was forced in office to hire Mandelson, who was party to the blackmail - Mandelson called the shots through Brown's tenureship.
Gordon Brown was appointed by the EU to foresee and warn of any economic risks on the horizon that might affect Europe.... he completely failed ! 🤷♀️
@@garymoore2535Really? I didn't know this. Do you have a link?
watching in 2019 this is so depressing
Blair the Traitor.
and we the people that allow these traitors to get away with it !
I think Blair was a great PM. But i can never excuse him for invading Iraq, when they were minding their own business for the most part.
lying eastward. Knew it then when I watched this broadcast.
They really should’ve got onto ‘those issues’ on Syria?
Although I think that Tony Blair was and will Always remain one of the best Labour Party Leaders in terms of Charisma and effeciency but I still believe that he should Never have backed the United States in their Invasion of Iraq.
When is he going to the Hague
I liked paxman , the last good interviewer in uk
It was obviously a huge error, and the intelligence was badly wrong, but Blair really is from a class of politician that does not exist today. Can you imagine Truss, Johnson or Sunak putting themselves through this forum? Not in a million years.
Many little prime ministers together
Blair is straining to do some explaining
Liar....
27 minutes, links b/n Saddam and AQ - what a load of horseshit!
I love bushes interview -". " we know saddam has weapons of mass destruction , we still have the receipts " .
Just how was Saddam able to get away with his worst atrocities, Blair?
The lesson I've learnt is stay out of the Miiddle East
11:32 ''And the fact is he (Saddam Hussein) is the one power in this world that has actually used chemical weapons against his own people.'' Israel has the largest stockpile of chemical, biological and nuclear weapons in the Middle East, and is the only state not to have signed the nuclear non-proliferation treaty! It has also used them against the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza, against Lebanon and Gaza during military assaults in 2006, and during Operation Cast Lead against Gaza in 2008-2009. Such was the evidence against Israel that Tel Aviv was forced, after initially denying accusations by the Lebanese government that it had done so, to admit that it had used phosphorous shells, which cause chemical burns, in its war against Lebanon in 2006.
The 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention prohibits the manufacture, use and transfer of the deadly weapons, but provides no mechanism for enforcing its rules. This is now a task that the US, one of the foremost developers, suppliers and users of chemical weapons from the 1950-53 Korean War onwards, has arrogated to itself as the world’s policeman. Of course, Tony Blair Is an agent of the US Corporatocracy heavily invested in weapons, fossil fuels and financial interests designed bring this world under a one world dictatorship.
The best lair in the industry
And here in 2017 we have Boris Johnson repeating the same old crap this time about Syria. Trust me - I wouldn't lie to you.
But at the time 80 per cent of the people in Britain and America fully supported the 2003 Iraq war. And anti war activists like me were flamed and called traitors online for years! It wasn't until 2007 that most people turned against the Iraq war.
Most anti war people don't give a toss about suffering /war,, they just hate America and Britain and saw this as a means reason to vent their hatred and anger.
Had china or Russia for example done this to Iraq you wouldn't have cared.
The war was a fiasco though,, no question.
Grinning like a Cheshire cat.
I supported Tony Blair and his government at the start.
This changed everything . I Will never forget attending the last anti war protest in London , people from every political party and none.
He should be in den Haag for war crimes.
However cause and effect means he will have to live with the knowledge that he is partly responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people....
What a sad epitaph for a man who promised so much...
He delivered so much,remove your anti war lenses and judge the man on the breadth of his achievements in office and prior to office in moving labour more to the centre,away from trade union power,away from far left policies on things like defence,he began by crafting the good friday agreement,dancing on razor blades with the polarized NI political and paramilitary sides.if you believe Iraq was a mistake,undertaken with poor intelligence I agree,if you say he lied and decieved everyone you need to declare what his ultimate goal,motive,and reward for risking all to get a war at any cost,I've posed this question since he was knighted amidst controversy,and no one has yet answered.
north Korea has no oil
a random group......... carefully selected by the BBC.
Tony Blair gave a speech in 1997 where he said something along the lines of, though we have settled accounts with milosovich there is another overdue appointment waiting for us in Iraq with saddam hussain. in 1997 Bush was the Gov of Texas and had no idea what an 'Iraq' was. so stop this poodle shit, when you forward that idea all you do is show how ill informed you are.
Tony Bliar
Blair was brilliant
At being a Liar!!!
@@craigmullen9046 barrister actually 😁
@@action963 Well their you go. And a failed one at that!!!
Blair, a master (if you call it that) of semantics, and has Dr Kelly’s death on his hands.
Hubris took him over.
Tony Blair-A typical politician i.e. A Liar
11:32 ''And the fact is he (Saddam Hussein) is the one power in this world that has actually used chemical weapons against his own people.'' What about the Chemical weapons used by the Kiev military forces against civilians this year (2014). White phosphorus and chloropicrin have been deployed by the Ukrainian army since June 11, 2014.
But this was recorded long before then
17:04
Tony Blair is the perfect example of a guy who loved the attention like Churchill and fought a pointless war. If WW2 were to happen again england got involved for Poland ... Which ended up a USSR statleite .
11:32 ''And the fact is he (Saddam Hussein) is the one power in this world that has actually used chemical weapons against his own people.'' It is no secret that the U.S., with the assistance of other governments, used depleted in the Gulf and Iraq War. This is even worse, in many ways, than any chemical weapon to date! Dramatic increases in infant mortality, cancer and leukaemia in the Iraqi city of Fallujah, which was bombarded by US Marines in 2004, exceed those reported by survivors of the atomic bombs that were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945! The study, entitled "Cancer, Infant Mortality and Birth Sex-Ratio in Fallujah, Iraq 2005-2009", is by Dr Busby, Malak Hamdan and Entesar Ariabi says that the types of cancer are "similar to that in the Hiroshima survivors who were exposed to ionising radiation from the bomb and uranium in the fallout". Of course, we also know that Enriched Uranium weapons were used in that war as well!
Not "Enriched Uranium".... "DEPLETED Uranium". Try and get the facts right !
@@garymoore2535 Rather than paying attention to the mainstream media revision of history promoted by the Rand Corporation which was the basis for research on 'depleted uranium'. This was a smoke screen because it's well known that Uranium is known to concentrate in the kidneys and bones and then leach out through urine over the years, but those studies were not done on Desert Storm veterans. Dr Christopher Busby states that “The peak effect in those at Hiroshima who were most irradiated was less than the effect in all of Falluja.” He also pointed to the increase in cancer cases in areas where the US forces used excessive amounts of uranium in southern Iraq, especially Basra. You can get poor and oft times biased research on depleted uranium as a by-product AFTER an event but much harder and even impossible to get research on ongoing Active Military use of enriched Uranium for obvious reasons!
42:24 - Surely she's knows that she's white?
She’s not white
Ukraine 🇺🇦 must be different to Kuwait 🇰🇼
Gods of War, Bob Dylan.