London - Tony Blair pleaded with his critics to stop questioning
his intentions over Britain's disastrous war in Iraq, after a blistering verdict
by the Chilcot inquiry - but commentators on Thursday showed scant sympathy.
"For his own sanity, he
still has to tell himself the world is 'better and safer' for him joining
George Bush's assault on Iraq. It is a monumental delusion," said an
editorial in The Sun, Britain's top-selling paper.
It added: "Blair does admit the post-war planning was a
calamity. That is his only concession. He sees no reason to apologise for his
decision to go to war and insists he'd do the same again.
"He still believes he had no choice. You could have said no,
Tony."
After the publication of the long-awaited inquiry report on
Wednesday, Blair gave an emotional two-hour press conference in which he
acknowledged mistakes but defended his intentions - and said he would do it
again.
Newspaper coverage on Thursday was scathing of the former Labour
prime minister, who won three elections but stepped down in 2007, as Iraq
collapsed into sectarian violence, with his reputation in tatters.
Appearing close to tears, Blair had said he felt more sorrow than
anyone could imagine for the conflict.
In the left-leaning Guardian, commentator Anne Perkins admitted
that "it feels cheap at such a time to doubt someone's sincerity".
"But I have seen him look stricken before - and like millions
of other voters, I don't trust him anymore," she wrote, adding that he was
guilty of "unbowed arrogance".
Michael Deacon, the sketch writer for the conservative Daily
Telegraph, noted that Blair refused to apologise for the invasion.
"What to make of it all? An honest plea for understanding
from a broken man? Or a performance, an immaculately executed impersonation of
one?" he wrote.
John Crace, the sketch writer for the Guardian, said his
performance showed sorrow mainly for himself.
"Me, me me. The war
hadn't been about the 179 British soldiers and several hundred thousand Iraqis
who died. It had been about him all along," he wrote.
Drawing on Monty Python's comic film Life of Brian, he added: "Tony's eyes burned with the
conviction of martyrdom. He wasn't a naughty boy, he was the Messiah.
"And he was heaven-bent on carrying on fighting a war he lost
long ago."
Trevor Kavanagh, the associate
editor of The Sun, said Blair "was always obsessed with legacy as prime minister".
"He may have hoped it would be as a US war hero with all the
lucrative benefits associated with it," he wrote.
"Instead, he will be
remembered for inflicting a terrorist firestorm on a fragile and unstable
world."
