A leading Middle East commentator has told Sputnik Tony Blair's international reputation has been damaged over his decision to go to war against Saddam Hussein, leaving him "almost semi-broken" amid "inconsistencies" in his Middle East relations.


Blair emerged shaken, following�the release of�the Chilcot Inquiry report into�the reasons for�going to�war in�Iraq in�2003.


Although not blaming him for�lying or misleading parliament, the report was critical of�his government's acceptance of flawed intelligence reportsof�Saddam Hussein's weapons of�mass destruction and of�its failure to�prepare militarily and strategically for�the effects of�invasion.

Chris Doyle, a commentator on�the Middle East and Director of�the Council for�Arab-British Understanding, told Sputnik:
"Chilcot has certainly damaged his reputation, but�it had already been damaged over�the complete strategic failure of�Iraq."


"You could argue that his Iraq failure really lead him to�leave office in�any event. So he has already been damaged by�it. This will only remind people of�that."

"It will damage his international standing. He is a very capable individual, and I think he will continue to�have various contracts and business dealings. He still remains more popular outside�of Britain than�within it. I wouldn't be surprised to�see Tony Blair recover from�this�� to�an extent.
"It's clear, emotionally he is almost semi-broken. You can see that it has taken its toll on�him. He looks physically as�if it has, as�well as�psychologically. He is being held responsible for�a completely devastating disaster in�which 179 British servicemen died, but�quarter-of-a-million to�a million Iraqis were killed. You would have to�have a very thick skin not to�be affected by�that," Doyle told Sputnik.


Libya Deal

A year after�the invasion, Blair made a controversial visit to�Libya to�meet Colonel Gaddafi, who had been linked with�the 1988 Lockerbie bombing, which killed 259 people, as�well as�the murder of�Yvonne Fletcher, a British police officer fatally shot during�a protest outside�the Libyan embassy at�St James's Square, London, in�1984.

Blair intended to�warm up�relations and the visit precipitated a number of�trade deals, including oil contracts.
"There are a lot of�inconsistencies in�the way in�which Tony Blair conducted his relations in�the Middle East, both as�prime minister and afterwards. He is famous, of�course for�the toppling of�one dictator, Saddam Hussein, but�then [for brokering] also this deal with�Gaddafi, which also led on�to�various dealings with�the Gaddafi regime [when Blair was] out�of office," Doyle told Sputnik.


"He would argue�� and there's some truth in�it�� that the deal with�Gaddafi led to�the removal of�chemical weapons from�Libya and the disarmament of�what weapons of�mass destruction it had. Therefore, it was worth it. But, did too much happen? Did too many business deals flow from�that? The normalization of�relations with�the Libyan authorities was perhaps too fast?"

"Did Europe and the US not play their hands wisely enough to�ensure there was real and lasting change in�Libya that might have meant that there wasn't the obvious disastrous intervention in�2011?"

In the Libyan intervention in�2011 led to�the toppling of�Colonel Gaddafi, but�has left the country is a state of�civil war ever since, leaving a vacuum which has been exploited by�Daesh, also known as�ISIL, in�a strikingly similar way that Iraq remained destabilized after�the 2003 invasion. Blair had a hand in�both.

After the publication of�the Chilcot report on�July 6, Blair made an impassioned�� almost desperate�� attempt to�defend himself. His performance was one of�somebody who was clearly under�pressure. He appeared to�be brittle, emotional and clearly somewhat shaken by�what was a very damning verdict of�the Iraq Inquiry.
"I think he was highly defensive�� as�indeed he should be. As the report so clearly highlights, Britain went to�war without�having really prepared. It went to�war on�the basis of�faulty intelligence. It didn't exhaust all the options to�avoid war and there was no imminent threat from�the Iraqi regime. So much of�what Tony Blair has said over�the last 14 or 15 years, was completely undone," Doyle told Sputnik.


By Sputnik