ARAB-EUROPEAN RELATIONS - Oct 13 - Blair Further Defines Iraq Apology.

Talking to the house of commons, PM Tony Blair gives his most explicit apology to date for the flawed intelligence assessments upon which he took Britain to war in Iraq, but he rejects opposition demands that he says he is sorry for "misrepresenting" intelligence. He said: "I take full responsibility and apologise for any information given in good faith that has subsequently turned out to be wrong. What I do not in any way accept is that there was a deception of anyone. I will not apologise for removing Saddam. I will not apologise for the conflict. I believe it was right then, is right now and essential for the wider security of that region and the world". Though Blair made a muscular defense of his position, his apology reflected his careful management of the issue in Parliament, where a large fraction of his Labour Party is in rebellion over Iraq policy. Together with opposition members, they have been demanding an apology of some sort for mistakes in judgement about the existence of weapons stockpiles and for inadequate planning for stabilising and rebuilding Iraq. Britain's MI6 intelligence service has been forced to retract its assertions that Saddam had chemical and biological weapons stockpiled and that such weapons could be deployed on 45 minutes' notice, a claim that helped to galvanise British public opinion in favor of war. The Conservative opposition leader Michael Howard, who supported the war, rose to confront Blair over his handling of the intelligence. He said that before Blair could "move on" politically, "there is one matter that you must deal with. You didn't accurately report the intelligence you received to the country. Will you now say 'sorry' for that"? Blair accused Howard of "playing politics" over the issue of faulty intelligence, and seemed to borrow a line from Pres Bush by questioning Howard's support for British soldiers and his qualifications to be a PM. He said: "It would be more helpful if he would back our troops out in Iraq rather than doing what he is doing now". But Howard retorted calmly: "We back our troops wholeheartedly. I didn't ask him to apologise for the war because I support it. I didn't ask him, either, to apologise for what he describes as the information. I asked him very specifically about the way he misrepresented the intelligence he received to the country. Why can't he bring himself to say 'sorry' for that"? Blair then responded: "I cannot bring myself to say that I misrepresented the evidence, since I do not accept that I did".