Did Blair have doubts?
The week's news at a glance.
London
A former Cabinet member said this week that British Prime Minister Tony Blair knew that Iraq did not have quickly deployable weapons of mass destruction, as his government claimed. Robin Cook, who quit his post as leader of the House of Commons in March because of his opposition to the war, has a new memoir out that was excerpted in the London Sunday Times this week. “The real reason [Blair] went to war,” Cook writes, “was that he found it easier to resist the public opinion of Britain than the request of the president of the United States.” Questions over whether the prime minister’s office “sexed up” its evidence of Saddam’s weapons have been a huge issue in Britain all summer. An independent inquiry into the matter will deliver a report late next month.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Home Depots are the new epicenters of ICE raids
In the Spotlight The chain has not provided many comments on the ongoing raids
-
Why does Trump keep interfering in the NYC mayoral race?
Today's Big Question The president has seemingly taken an outsized interest in his hometown elections, but are his efforts to block Zohran Mamdani about political expediency or something deeper?
-
The pros and cons of banning cellphones in classrooms
Pros and cons The devices could be major distractions