Former British prime minister Tony Blair defended the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq, saying the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States meant Saddam Hussein had to be disarmed or removed.The Al-Qaeda strikes against US cities had transformed the global security picture, raising the risk that militants could kill even more people if weapons of mass destruction (WMD) from a rogue state were to fall into their hands, Blair said. Facing the first official public grilling on why he sent 45,000 British troops to war in Iraq, Blair batted away questions about the legality of the invasion but admitted for the first time there had been mistakes in the post-war planning. Blair defended the war's legality, relying on the green light the government's top lawyer gave only days before the conflict, and saying a second UN resolution had only been desirable from a political, not legal perspective. Blair also added that they did not anticipate al Qaeda and Iran would play the role that they did which he said almost caused the mission to fail.
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