War Criminal of the Week: Warmonger Tony Blair Launches New Book

Posted by CODEPINK Staff

Warmonger Tony Blair Launches New Book
By Nancy Mancias

Removing Saddam will be a blessing to the Iraqi people. Four million Iraqis are in exile; 60% of the population dependent on food aid. Thousands of children die every year through malnutrition and disease. Hundreds of thousands have been driven from their homes or murdered. -Prime Minister Tony Blair, War with Iraq speech, March 20, 2003

The military overthrow of the brutal dictatorship of Saddam Hussein did not lead to a better life for Iraqis—just the opposite. It resulted in the further destruction of basic infrastructure—electricity, water, sewage—that continues to this day. The invasion with its military might dropped more tons of bombs on Iraq, destroying Iraq’s electrical, water and sewage systems. Iraq’s health care and higher education systems, once the best in the entire region, have been decimated.

The occupation of Iraq unleashed a wave of violence that has left over one million Iraqis dead and four million displaced, as well as ethnic rivalries that continue to plague the nation. The U.S. and UK backed invasion seriously wounded millions of Iraqis, creating a lifetime of suffering and economic hardship for them, their communities and the entire nation as it struggles to rebuild.

The majority of the refugees and internally displaced persons created by the intervention have been abandoned. Of the nearly 4 million refugees, many are now living in increasingly desperate circumstances in Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and around the world.

Natural resources have been taken over by outside investors like British Petroleum (BP). In April 2003, three weeks after the invasion, BP developed and introduced a team to acquire Iraqi oil, which was led by then chief executive of exploration and production Tony Hayward. In January 2007, Hayward was appointed Chief Executive of BP and wins the biggest Iraqi oil contract in ’09.

The Iraq War has left a terrible toll on U.S. and UK troops. Over 4,400 U.S. troops have been killed and tens of thousands severely injured. The UK has lost over 170 troops. Tony Blair and George W. Bush have not been held accountable for getting us into this disastrous war.

Blair just launched his book tour in Dublin, Ireland where he was met with 400 strong anti-war advocates.

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Activists in the UK have creatively initiated a bounty for the arrest of the former Prime Minister.

Blair is scheduled to receive the National Constitution Center's 2010 Liberty Medal for his steadfast commitment to conflict resolution on Monday September 13, 2010 in Historic Philadelphia.

With Tony Blair's disastrous behavior in leading a country into war based on lies and holding a contract with Bush senior officials in alarming the world of false allegations against the Iraqi people, the last thing Blair deserves is a U.S. Liberty Medal.