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Blair's legacy is unravelling

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As American President Barack Obama considers 'all options' to help Iraq cope with armed insurgents, there is a sense of cold dread in Britain.

Tony Blair took this country to war more than a decade ago on the basis of a tissue of lies about weapons of mass destruction.

Now, three years after the last UK troops left Iraq, the cities of Mosul and Tikrit have fallen to Sunni Islamist insurgents.

One of Mr Blair's former home secretaries, Charles Clarke, describes him as being 'in quite a tragic position' because he cannot find a role in national politics.

Perhaps the enormous personal fortune he has made on the speaking circuit and his role as a Middle East peace envoy is some compensation.

Mr Blair has said he has long since given up trying to persuade people he made the right decision on Iraq. He is adamant that getting rid of Saddam Hussein was better for the country and the world.

That the dictator was an evil man is not in any doubt. But in Iraq today there Al Qaeda forces demanding citizens repent or die as they work towards creating an Islamist emirate to straddle Iraq and Syria.

Our unwarranted intervention in another country has de-stabilised it and left it vulnerable to extremism. And that is Tony Blair's true legacy.

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