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Former PM Blair to Testify at British Inquiry into Iraq War

   VOA News 29 January 2010

   Former  British  Prime  Minister  Tony  Blair  is expected to strongly
   defend
   his decision to go to war in Iraq when he faces a British government
   inquiry Friday.
   Mr.  Blair  is the star witness in the probe into exactly when and why
   the
   government decided to invade Iraq.
   Mr.  Blair  has  appeared at previous inquiries. But this is the first
   time
   he will be questioned with the public watching.
   Mr. Blair was prime minister in 2003 when he joined forces with former
   U.S. President George W. Bush to lead an invasion of Iraq.
   Both leaders firmly believed the late Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein had
   weapons  of  mass  destruction.  But such weapons were never found and
   many
   critics are questioning whether the war was legal.
   British  news  reports  say  Mr. Blair is expected to tell the inquiry
   that
   getting  rid  of  Saddam  saved  the lives of many Iraqis and that the
   world
   is better off without him.
   Anti-war protesters, including the families of some of the 179 British
   war dead, plan to demonstrate outside the inquiry.

   Some information for this report was provided by AFP.

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