Former British PM Tony Blair Admits Iraq War Was A Mistake That Played Role In Creating ISIS

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair made mistakes over attacking Iraq----and he is the first one to realise it.

"I apologise for the fact that the intelligence we received was wrong," Blair said in an interview with CNN's Fareed Zakaria.

"I also apologise, by the way, for some of the mistakes in planning, and certainly, our mistake in our understanding of what would happen once you removed the regime," he added.

Tens of thousands of Iraqis, more than 4,000 U.S. troops and 179 British service members were killed in the lengthy conflict.

As the "most high-profile foreign ally of former U.S. President George W. Bush, Blair has been stalked by the mistake made by the US President George Bush everywhere he goes, according to The Guardian.

Still, he did not seem to regret having removed Saddam Hussein. "I find it hard to apologize for removing Saddam. I think, even from today in 2015, it is better that he's not there than that he is there," Blair said.

However, the invasion had led to the rise of the Islamic State, agreed the former Prime Minister from 1997 until 2007. "I think there are elements of truth in that. Of course you can't say those of us who removed Saddam in 2003 bear no responsibility for the situation in 2015," he admitted.

Tony Blair's spokesperson validated his remarks later. "Tony Blair has always apologised for the intelligence being wrong and for mistakes in planning. He has always also said, and says again here, that he does not however think it was wrong to remove Saddam," she said.

"He did not say the decision to remove Saddam in 2003 'caused Isis' and pointed out that Isis was barely heard of at the end of 2008, when al-Qaida was basically beaten," she said.