Tony Blair and George Bush may have won the war in Iraq, but they are losing the peace at home. How did Blair come to support the US-led invasion of Iraq? Why did he risk taking Britain into a conflict which so imperilled his premiership? Was he justified in doing so?
These are just some of the questions which David Coates and JoelKrieger seek to answer in Blair's War - the mostauthoritative and complete record of the conflict to date. Writtenby two of the most experienced and perceptive observers of Britishpolitics and New Labour, the book explains how his stalwartcommitment to stand 'shoulder to shoulder' with Americaafter 9/11 trapped Blair in a tragic logic that took the UK to warin Iraq. It reveals how Blair was bushwhacked into exaggerating theIraqi threat, seduced away from New Labour's ethical foreignpolicy, and drawn into Bush's imperial campaign.Blair's War blows a hole through each of thejustifications for war and offers a detailed, original andcompelling set of proposals to return the UK to an ethical foreignpolicy.
With an exquisite sense of the unfolding drama and an eye fordetail, the authors develop the arguments for and against the warand, with unerring fairness, test each argument against the recordof what was known, what was suspected, and what was misrepresented.The book provides a unique perspective on this latest unsettlingturn in the 'special relationship', and is essentialreading for voters on both sides of the Atlantic, who must soondetermine the political fates of both the President and PrimeMinister.