London: Tony Blair`s long-awaited memoir says the former British prime minister doesn`t regret the Iraq war — although he wept for the victims — and carries revelations about the politician`s alcohol use, his interactions with the queen and his testy relationship with his successor.
Tony Blair`s "A Journey" was stirring political passions as it hit bookstores Wednesday, with excerpts revealing that the former British prime minister cried for soldiers and civilians killed in Iraq, but still thought it was right to invade and topple Saddam Hussein.
The decision to go to war remains Blair`s most divisive legacy. In excerpts from the book released by the publisher late Tuesday, Blair says "I ... regret with every fiber of my being the loss of those who died."
"Tears, though there have been many, do not encompass it," he says.
But, he says, "on the basis of what we do know now, I still believe that leaving Saddam in power was a bigger risk to our security than removing him and that, terrible though the aftermath was, the reality of Saddam and his sons in charge of Iraq would at least arguably be much worse."
"I can`t regret the decision to go to war," he says.
Blair also reopens domestic political wounds, saying he found his rival and successor Gordon Brown difficult and maddening.
British booksellers are reporting heavy interest in the book, for which Blair was paid an estimated 4.6 million pounds ($7.5 million). He`s donating the proceeds to a charity for injured troops.
Billed by publisher Random House as a "frank, open" account of life at the top, "A Journey" is being published in a dozen countries, alongside an e-book and an audio version read by Blair himself. It`s in the top 10 on Amazon`s British best-seller list — though it`s only 4,000 on the retailer`s U.S. site.
Blair — who is scheduled to be in Washington on publication day, attending Israeli-Palestinian peace talks in his role as an international Mideast envoy — has said he "set out to write a book which describes the human as much as the political dimensions of life as prime minister."
"A Journey" promises to give readers behind-the-curtain insights into major world events from the death of Princess Diana to the Sept. 11 attacks and the invasion of Iraq.
It is unlikely to resolve the conflicting views and emotions Blair evokes.
For many Americans, he remains a well-regarded ally who stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the U.S. in the fight against international terrorism. He`s scheduled to receive the 2010 Liberty Medal from former President Bill Clinton in Philadelphia on Sept. 13.
PTI
