Difference between revisions of "Tony Blair"

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|rationalwiki=http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Tony_Blair
 
|description=Remarkably popular at the time, Tony Blair was a UK prime minister, now infamous for lying UK invading Iraq, notwithstanding massive opposition. He is currently sought for War crimes by many people.
 
|description=Remarkably popular at the time, Tony Blair was a UK prime minister, now infamous for lying UK invading Iraq, notwithstanding massive opposition. He is currently sought for War crimes by many people.
 
|constitutes=politician, war criminal
 
|constitutes=politician, war criminal

Revision as of 14:30, 4 December 2015

Person.png Tony Blair   WebsiteRdf-entity.pngRdf-icon.png
(politician, war criminal)
Gods-Wars-Exhibition-May-Ayres-25.jpg
Sculpture By May Ayres
BornAnthony Charles Lynton Blair
1953-05-06
Edinburgh
Alma materSt John's College, Oxford, Inns of Court School of Law
ReligionRoman Catholicism
Children • Euan Nicky
• Kathryn Leo
SpouseCherie Booth
Founder ofTony Blair Institute for Global Change
Member ofAtlantic Council/Distinguished Leadership Awards, Council on the Future of Europe, European Council on Tolerance and Reconciliation, Fabian Society, JP Morgan Chase/International Council, Jeffrey Epstein/Black book, Labour Friends of Israel, Paley Media Council, The Other Club, Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, US/Department/State/International Visitor Leadership Program, WEF/Board of Trustees, WEF/Global Leaders for Tomorrow/1993
Interest ofChristopher Haskins, Natasa Pantelic, Ryan Wain
PartyLabour
Remarkably popular at the time, Tony Blair was a UK prime minister, now infamous for lying UK invading Iraq, notwithstanding massive opposition. He is currently sought for War crimes by many people.

Employment.png Prime Minister Wikipedia-icon.png

In office
2 May 1997 - 27 June 2007
EmployerUK
resigned

Employment.png Leader of the Labour Party

In office
21 July 1994 - 24 June 2007
DeputyJohn Prescott

Employment.png Leader of the Opposition Wikipedia-icon.png

In office
21 July 1994 - 2 May 1997

Employment.png Shadow Home Secretary Wikipedia-icon.png

In office
24 July 1992 - 24 October 1994

Employment.png Shadow Secretary of State for Employment

In office
2 November 1989 - 24 July 1992
Preceded byMichael Meacher

Employment.png Shadow Secretary of State for Energy

In office
23 November 1988 - 2 November 1989
Preceded byJohn Prescott
Succeeded byFrank Dobson

Employment.png Member of Parliament for Sedgefield

In office
9 June 1983 - 27 June 2007

Tony Blair is a multi-millionaire[1] former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom with a track record of lying[2][3], convicted in absentia as a war criminal.[4][5]

In Government

David Shayler has alleged that Tony Blair worked for MI5.[6] Whether or not he did, or still does, his record would seem to indicate a de facto affiliation to deep state interests. Philip Lyon was a senior aide of Tony Blair who was found guilty in 2003 of child pornography on his (Lyon's) House of Commons computer.[7]

Domestic policy

Blair personally intervened to stop an investigation by the Serious Fraud Office into the multi-billion pound Al-Yamamah arms deal by writing "secret and personal" letter to the UK/Attorney General, Peter Goldsmith.[8]

The Sourcewatch page has a good summary of Tony Blair's nuclear stance, basically a switch from anti- to pro, after contacts from the Nuclear lobby.

Foreign policy

Tony Blair had been widely criticised from within his own party for supporting the policy on Iraq of U.S. President George W. Bush. There is a general perception in the UK that Blair repeatedly misled the UK parliament and public in echoing the U.S. claims that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction and that invading and occupying Iraq was legal. As a result, some Members of Parliament have formed a group to call for impeachment hearings. The failure of commercially-controlled media to pick up on this in spite of pretty overwhelming evidence is another indication that he may be receiving protection from the deep state.

Further pressure was put on Blair in September 2004, during the UK Labour Party conference, when the London Evening Standard newspaper published details of a leaked Pentagon briefing paper. The document reveals that in October 2002, the Pentagon finalized its "Full Operational Battle Plan 1003V" for the Iraq war, at a time when Blair was insisting that no decisions had been made about whether to go to war.

Lying to parliament about the Bilderberg group

When asked in March 1998 in the UK Parliament "which members of his Government have attended meetings of the Bilderberg Group?", Tony Blair replied "none".[9] However, when named by a fellow attendee of the 1993 conference he later attended attending, terming Bilderberg "a really useful group".[10]

9/11 and the "War on Terror"

Tony Blair has been an unflinching promoter of the "War on Terror". He claimed on September 31, 2001 to have seen "absolutely powerful incontrovertible evidence" that Osama bin Laden was responsible for the 9/11 attacks, but he declined to present it "because much of this evidence comes to us from sensitive sources, from intelligence sources". He also stated that "Just as terrorists operate without borders, so the fight against terrorism needs to be a global one. Only a true coalition of the civilised world offers a real chance of cutting out the cancer of mass terrorism."[11]

War Crimes

In 2007, artists Peter Kennard and Cat Picton-Phillipps produced this icon collage depicting Tony Blair taking a 'selfie' in front of a huge explosion. This was a "response to the personal anger the two artists felt, and [stemmed from a desire] to create something that reflected and validated the enormous public opposition to the war, which they felt had not been reflected in the [corporate] media."[12]

Tried in absentia Tony Blair was convicted by the Kuala Lumpur War Crimes Commission[4] both for crimes against peace following his lies in the run up to the illegal Iraq War. The tribunal referred their findings to the chief prosecutor at the International Court of Justice in the Hague. He is wanted for the supreme crime, that of waging a war of aggression. The leaking of the Downing street memos exposed the deceits which leading up to the illegal 2003 Invasion of Iraq, an act of unprovoked aggression which has resulted in over a million deaths. George Monbiot writing for the Guardian termed him "one of the two greatest living mass murderers on earth", noting that the war crime charge "looks incontestable".[13]

Citizens Arrest?

He has not yet been brought to justice, although he has been arrested to several citizens' arrests. An activist has set up the Arrest Blair website which distributes bounties to those who try to perform a citizen's arrest on him. This feat is made difficult by the £250,000/year paid by the UK government for Blair's security guards.

On 2 June 2014, Tony Blair avoided answering questions about the still unpublished Chilcot Inquiry report into the Iraq war.[14]

Pariah status

Ariel Sharon's funeral, Jan.2014

In August 2012, Archbishop Desmond Tutu announced his refusal to share a platform with Blair. His office stated:

"Ultimately, the Archbishop is of the view that Mr Blair's decision to support the United States' military invasion of Iraq, on the basis of unproven allegations of the existence in Iraq of weapons of mass destruction, was morally indefensible. The Discovery Invest Leadership Summit has 'leadership' as its theme. Morality and leadership are indivisible. In this context, it would be inappropriate and untenable for the Archbishop to share a platform with Mr Blair.[15]

In January 2014, Craig Murray wrote on his blog "Seeing Tony Blair speaking at Ariel Sharon’s Funeral – one war criminal eulogising another – was so horrifying it has jolted this blog back out of retirement. There may be no justice, but there can be truth."[16]

Later activities

Blair=killer.jpg

Before Tony Blair announced that he would be resigning his prime ministerial post it became known (not officially announced) that he had been offered a position at the Carlyle Group, the largest US private equity firm which is heavily involved the armaments industry.[17] It also became known that the Murdoch press had agreed a £4.5 million signing fee for his memoirs.[18]

While Blair's mostly-symbolic role as "mediator" in the Middle East has impeded him pursuing the lecture circuit, the announced rate for one lecture in China was US$500,000. On 9 January 2008, it was announced that Blair would become a "part-time senior adviser, on a salary said to exceed $1m (£500,000) a year" at JPMorgan Chase.[19] The Financial Times said that he would earn £2 million/year and "will use his experience and contacts to provide political and strategic advice to the US bank and participate in some client events." Blair stated that he was looking at accepting "a small handful" of similar positions with other companies. "I have always been interested in commerce and the impact of globalisation. Nowadays, the intersection between politics and the economy in different parts of the world, including the emerging markets, is very strong," he said.[20]

Libyan involvement

Documents found by the Sunday Telegraph showed that Blair had made at least three visits to Tripoli, twice in the lead-up to the release of the alleged Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset al-Megrahi in 2008 and 2009 and once in 2010. On the first two occasions he was flown to the country on planes arranged by Muammar Gaddafi.[21] A senior diplomat told the Daily Telegraph that the British embassy in Tripoli had arranged transport for Mr Blair and his entourage in Tripoli and ensured that representatives were there to "greet him and see him off" at the airport. Mr Blair stayed overnight at the ambassador’s official residence in Tripoli and was accompanied by "several" British police officers for protection. The documents show that among the people he was due to meet in 2009 was Mohammed Layas, head of the LIA.

A Blair spokesman said that the visits had largely been to discuss Africa, and categorically denied that he had lobbied Saif al-Islam on behalf of JP Morgan:

"As we have made clear many times before, Tony Blair has never had any role, either formal or informal, paid or unpaid, with the Libyan Investment Authority or the Government of Libya and he does not and has never had any commercial relationship with any Libyan company or entity."

In August 2011, American officials told the New York Post newspaper that JP Morgan managed more than half a billion US dollars on behalf of the LIA. One of the letters arranging the 2008 visit, in which an aide to Mr Blair told the Libyan ambassador to Britain that the former prime minister was "delighted" that "The Leader" was likely to be able to see him, was on notepaper headed "Office of the Quartet Representative", his formal title as Middle East envoy. The Quartet he represents is made up of the European Union, the United Nations, Russia and the United States. A spokesman for Ban Ki-moon, the UN Secretary-General, said: "It's up to him to explain why he did this." [22]

In September 2011, the Daily Telegraph revealed that Tony Blair was one of three prominent western businessmen (including an unnamed British businessman and a former American diplomat) who regularly advised Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, son of the former Libyan leader, over investment decisions of the Libyan Investment Authority (LIA), the $70 billion fund used to invest the country's oil money abroad.[23] An LIA executive, speaking on condition of anonymity, said:

"Tony Blair's visits were purely lobby visits for banking deals with JP Morgan. Saif and his father played these people like musical chairs. At the end the reputation of the LIA was really damaged because of these interventions."

Other affiliations

Tony Blair is a member of the Fabian Society, the America APPG, patron of the Foreign Policy Centre and a member of The Other Club since 1991.

External links

 

Appointments by Tony Blair

AppointeeJobAppointedEndDescription
Richard FaulknerMember of the House of Lords1999
Barry GardinerParliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Delivery and Efficiency10 May 20055 May 2006
Barry GardinerParliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Northern Ireland2 April 200410 May 2005
Barry GardinerParliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Biodiversity, Landscape and Rural Affairs5 May 200628 June 2007
Jim MurphyChancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster2 November 20055 May 2006Acting
Jim MurphyMinister for the Cabinet Office2 November 20055 May 2006Acting
Clare ShortUK/Minister/Development2 May 199712 May 2003

 

Related Quotations

PageQuoteAuthorDate
Attorney General for England and Wales“It’s not unusual for the attorney general to intervene in cases in order to represent the public interest. He has sought to intervene in this case because it raises important issues about the scope of the criminal law.”2017
Jimmy Carter“Nowadays, because of the unwarranted invasion of Iraq by Bush and Blair, which was a completely unjust adventure based on misleading statements, and the lack of any effort to resolve the Palestinian issue, [there is] massive Islamic condemnation of the United States. (...) (American media organisations), have been cowed, because they didn't want to be unpatriotic. There has been a lack of inquisitive journalism. In fact, it's hard to think of a major medium in the United States that has been objective and fair and balanced, and critical when criticism was deserved”Jimmy Carter2004
Freedom of Information Act“It appears that Freedom of Information (hereinafter FOI) laws have never been loved by their parents. When US President Lyndon Johnson signed the world's first FOI Act into law in 1966, he was so keen not to be associated with it that – uniquely among modern Presidential enactions – there was no photographer present to capture the historic moment. It is fitting that Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blair, who gave the UK its own FOI Act, has since attempted to disassociate himself from the law he presented to the Queen for Royal Assent in 2000.”Garrick Alder2017
UK/Deep state“I testified last week to the Chilcot inquiry. My experience demonstrates an emerging and dangerous problem with the process. This is not so much a problem with Sir John Chilcot and his panel, but rather with the government bureaucracy – Britain's own "deep state" – that is covering up its mistakes and denying access to critical documents... I asked for access to all the documents I had worked on as Britain's Iraq "expert" at the UN Security Council, including intelligence assessments, records of discussions with the US, and the long paper trail on the WMD dossier. Large files were sent to me to peruse at the UK mission to the UN. However, long hours spent reviewing the files revealed that most of the key documents I had asked for were not there. I was told that specific documents, such as the records of prime minister Tony Blair's visit to Syria, could not be found. This is simply not plausible.”Carne Ross25 July 2010

 

Events Participated in

EventStartEndLocation(s)Description
Bilderberg/199322 April 199325 April 1993Greece
Nafsika Astir Palace Hotel
Vouliagmeni
The 41st Bilderberg, held in Greece
Munich Security Conference/20114 February 20116 February 2011Germany
Munich
Bavaria
The 47th Munich Security Conference
Munich Security Conference/201431 January 20142 February 2014Germany
Munich
Bavaria
The 50th Munich Security Conference
Munich Security Conference/201915 February 201917 February 2019Germany
Munich
Bavaria
The 55th Munich Security Conference, which included "A Spreading Plague" aimed at "identifying gaps and making recommendations to improve the global system for responding to deliberate, high consequence biological events."
Munich Security Conference/202014 February 202016 February 2020Germany
Munich
Bavaria
The 56th Munich Security Conference, in 2020, "welcomed an unprecedented number of high-ranking international decision-makers."
WEF/Annual Meeting/200724 January 200728 January 2007SwitzerlandOnly the 449 public figures listed of ~2200 participants
WEF/Annual Meeting/200823 January 200827 January 2008World Economic Forum
Switzerland
At the 2008 summit, Klaus Schwab called for a coordinated approach, where different 'stakeholders' collaborate across geographical, industrial, political and cultural boundaries."
WEF/Annual Meeting/200923 January 200927 January 2009World Economic Forum
Switzerland
Chairman Klaus Schwab outlined five objectives driving the Forum’s efforts to shape the global agenda, including letting the banks that caused the 2008 economic crisis keep writing the rules, the climate change agenda, over-national government structures, taking control over businesses with the stakeholder agenda, and a "new charter for the global economic order".
WEF/Annual Meeting/201323 January 201327 January 2013World Economic Forum
Switzerland
2500 mostly unelected leaders met to discuss "leading through adversity"
WEF/Annual Meeting/201422 January 201425 January 2014World Economic Forum
Switzerland
2604 guests in Davos considered "Reshaping The World"
WEF/Annual Meeting/201521 January 201524 January 2015World Economic Forum
Switzerland
Attended by a lot of people. This page lists only the 261 "Public Figures".
WEF/Annual Meeting/201922 January 201925 January 2019World Economic Forum
Switzerland
"The reality is that we are in a Cold War [against China] that threatens to turn into a hot one."
WEF/Annual Meeting/202021 January 202024 January 2020World Economic Forum
Switzerland
This mega-summit of the world's ruling class and their political and media appendages happens every year, but 2020 was special, as the continuous corporate media coverage of COVID-19 started more or less from one day to the next on 20/21 January 2020, coinciding with the start of the meeting.

 

Related Documents

TitleTypePublication dateAuthor(s)Description
Document:Al Quds Day letter to Tony Blairletter3 September 2010Lauren BoothLauren Booth writes a scathing open letter to her brother-in-law, Tony Blair...
Document:Censorship and Freedom of Speechblog post1 October 2008Craig Murray
Document:Corbyn fans should welcome this attempted coup, the Blairites are committing political suicidearticle26 June 2016Kerry-anne MendozaIn these uncertain days after the Brexit vote, when the Labour party needed to rally UK progressives to prevent a right-wing Brexit from the European Union – a small number of Labour MPs have instead chosen to mount a coup against leader Jeremy Corbyn. But Corbyn supporters should be ecstatic, because this opportunistic and ignorant move is an act of political suicide for the Blairites.
Document:Hidden Alliance of former WEF Young Global Leaders working in LockstepArticle27 January 2022Nota Akhir ZamanJust listen to the President of the World Economic Forum, Klaus Schwab, himself say the following: “I have to say when I mention names like Mrs Merkel, Vladimir Putin and so on they have all been Young Global Leaders of the World Economic Forum, but what we’re really proud of now is the young generation like Prime Minister Trudeau, the President of Argentina and so on.
Document:Jack Straw Memo 25 March 2002memo25 March 2002Jack Straw
Document:Let’s Move On From Borisblog post28 May 2020Craig Murray"Boris Johnson on the Dominic Cummings debacle: 'It is now time to move on… the country wants to move on.' If a politician tells you to 'move on' from a subject, it is a gigantic red flag that you should do precisely the opposite."
Document:Manning Memo 14 March 2002memo14 March 2002David Manning
Document:Novichok And Theresa May's "45 Minute Moment"Article15 March 2018Is Britain off to war (in Syria) to save the government from all sorts of disasters back at home? Challenging a Prime Minister in the midst of an international conflict is always difficult – just look at the vitriol thrown at Jeremy Corbyn for doing so yesterday – who was proved right in the face of the same accusations with Tony Blair.
Document:Peak KinnockArticle19 September 2016Craig Murray"11,000 people saving £2 a month might not save a dying little baby, but would exactly pay the £264,000 per year salary of Neil Kinnock’s daughter-in-law Helle Thorning-Schmidt, Chief Executive of Save the Children and wife of MP Stephen Kinnock. Misery for some is a goldmine for others."
Document:Priti Patel's Israel links undermined British diplomacy in the Middle EastArticle23 December 2021Martin LintonHome Secretary Priti Patel, who was fired from her previous government post by Theresa May for holding secret meetings with Israeli ministers, spearheaded the blacklisting of Hamas as a "terrorist organisation" in a move that angered Palestinians and undermined British diplomacy
Document:Sanitising the Iraq Wararticle6 July 2016Jonathon ShafiThe full horror of what Blair unleashed will never be truly understood in the West. And, internationally the full consequences of this war are still to be felt. As the sister of a soldier killed in Iraq said: “There is one terrorist in this world and his name is Tony Blair.”
Document:The American Jewish scholar behind Labour's "antisemitism" scandal breaks his silenceInterview3 May 2016Norman Finkelstein
Jamie Stern-Weiner
Norman G. Finkelstein is clear: "It’s time to put a stop to this periodic charade, because it ends up besmirching the victims of the Nazi holocaust, diverting from the real suffering of the Palestinian people, and poisoning relations between the Jewish and Muslim communities. You just had an antisemitism hysteria last year, and it was a farce. And now again? Another inquiry? Another investigation? No."
Document:The Forde Report and the Labour Rightblog post24 July 2022Craig MurrayAbout a third of the mass membership that Corbyn brought into the Labour Party has now left. Starmer, having lied his way through his leadership election, has now positioned the party very squarely back as Blairite and Tory Lite. There is therefore a very real argument that the Forde Report simply does not matter.
Document:The bloody legacy of Bomber BlairArticle1 January 2022Alex Snowdon"Petition for Tony Blair to have his 'Knight Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter' rescinded" Such an honour rests upon expecting us to conveniently forget or ignore the enormous damage that Blair did. People are right to be angry.
Document:We are the war criminals nowArticle29 November 2001Robert FiskGeorge W. Bush says that "you are either for us or against us" in the war for civilisation against evil. Well, I'm sure not for bin Laden. But I'm not for Bush. I'm actively against the brutal, cynical, lying "war of civilisation" that he has begun so mendaciously in our name and which has now cost as many lives as the World Trade Center mass murder.
Document:Why Tony is right to entertain AssadArticle17 December 2002Rod LiddleBashar al Assad became the first Syrian leader to visit the United Kingdom in 2002.
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References

  1. http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/dec/04/tony-blair-defends-business-dealings-cites-henry-kissinger-role-model
  2. Tony_Blair#Lying_to_parliament_about_the_Bilderberg_group
  3. Downing street memos
  4. a b http://criminalisewar.org/files/Judgement%20on%20Genocide.pdf
  5. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/blair-denounced-as-liar-and-murderer-1884540.html
  6. http://www.darkpolitricks.com/david-shayler-tony-blair-was-an-mi5-spy/
  7. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/essex/3164581.stm
  8. http://www.bbc.com/news/business-23622364
  9. http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm199798/cmhansrd/vo980330/text/80330w06.htm
  10. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQf2-3EiAxs&index=45&list=PLagHa1QjXUIh2Fy6WSDemenIBoSloYjh_
  11. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1358074/Blair-has-seen-proof-that-bin-Laden-is-guilty.html
  12. http://gerryco23.wordpress.com/2013/11/12/contemporary-art-and-war-at-iwm-north/
  13. http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/oct/26/making-blair-eu-president-crazy
  14. "Video: Tony Blair ducks questions on Chilcot Inquiry"
  15. "Archbishop Desmond Tutu pulls out of event with Tony Blair because of Iraq War"
  16. "War Criminals On TV"
  17. Hamer, Rupert, "Tony Blair to join Carlyle Group?" Sunday Mirror, 22 August 2005, accessed 24 November 2008.
  18. Aaronovitch, David, "A Different Kind of Compassion," Media Lens, 10 January 2008.
  19. Wearden, Graeme, "Blair joins JP Morgan as $1m-a-year adviser," Guardian, 10 January 2008, accessed 24 November 2008.
  20. David Wighton, "Blair takes advisory position at JP Morgan", Financial Times, January 9 2008.
  21. "Tony Blair: Libya, Lockerbie, Arms and Betrayals"
  22. "Tony Blair 'visited Libya to lobby for JP Morgan'"
  23. "Financial Heist of the Century: Confiscating Libya’s Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWF)"