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.
Subscribe to 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.
-
Pope seeks inquiry on if Gaza assault is 'genocide'Speed Read In a book for the Jubilee 2025, Pope Francis considers whether Israel's war in Gaza meets the legal definition of 'genocide'
-
Can Europe pick up the slack in Ukraine?Today's Big Question Trump's election raises questions about what's next in the war
-
Biden allows Ukraine to hit deep in RussiaSpeed Read The U.S. gave Ukraine the green light to use ATACMS missiles supplied by Washington, a decision influenced by Russia's escalation of the war with North Korean troops
