Blair and Iraq

Much discussion has been given to Blair's legacy. Particular focus is put on the Iraq war with the majority of the media and leftist commentators telling us that Iraq will ruin Blair's premiership. However, the truth is far from that.

In our war with Islamism there are two eventual outcomes; either we win or lose. If we lose then Iraq will not matter. If we win, though, Iraq together with Afghanistan will be seen as the first stirrings of the West. For decades we in the West have backed down to Islamist pressure and in many cases still do. This has been seen as weakness and emboldens the Islamists. Iraq bucked that trend.

Ask yourself the following simple question; since Saddam didn't have WMDs why did he play around with the inspectors? He knew this would give the impression that he was hiding something. Giving full cooperation with the inspectors would have undermined the cause of going to war and he'd probably still be there.

The answer is that he assumed that the West wouldn't act against him because he assumed that the West is weak. And, looking at the millions of people marching through the streets in support of a murderous tyrant, who can blame him for thinking that. So, our invasion of Iraq showed that the West isn't quite so weak.

In this context Iraq will be remembered as the West's first major step to fully confronting Islamism. It is a milestone on our road to being able to stand up for ourselves and being prepared to do what it takes to ensure the safety of our citizens, culture and civilizations. Iraq will indeed be Blair's legacy and it will leave him standing as one of the best PMs we've had alongside Churchill.