Blair: Saddam sentence a chance to reflect
The prime minister said the conviction of Saddam Hussein for crimes against humanity provides an opportunity to reflect on progress since the dictator’s regime ended.
The former Iraqi leader was yesterday sentenced to death by hanging, and although he and his co-defendants have the right to appeal – this is not expected to be successful.
Speaking at his monthly press conference, Tony Blair said: “The trial of Saddam gives us a chance to see again what the past in Iraq was. The tyranny and brutality.
“It also helps point the way to the future.”
The prime minister was pressed to denounce the Iraqi court’s decision to sentence the former dictator to death, and Mr Blair insisted the UK opposed the death penalty in all cases.
He also refused to hail the conviction as a turning point for the troubled country.
“I’ve become very cautious about proclaiming turning points,” he said.
But he insisted there were positives, especially when the “total and barbaric brutality of [Saddam’s] regime” was considered.
“What the Saddam trial reminds us of is what the past was like – the sheer terror of the past,” he said.
The “grounds for optimism” were that the Iraqi people had “put Saddam on trial”, and “that 17 million Iraqi people came out and voted in an election”.
Mr Blair also argued the Iraqi army was now building up strength.
Rejecting poll figures which suggest the US and UK’s foreign policy had increased the risk of terrorism and made the world less safe, he added: “The task of political leadership sometimes is to stand out against public opinion.”
“I still say it is a battle worth fighting.”
