Blair receives Liberty Medal from Clinton
Watch: Third Way allies team up again in Philadelphia.
By George Eaton Published 14 September 2010 14:23He may have been pelted with eggs and shoes in Dublin but Tony Blair can always count on a warm reception in the United States. Here's footage of him receiving the Liberty Medal from his old Third Way chum Bill Clinton in Philadelphia last night.
The medal is awarded annually by the National Constitution Centre and previous winners include Solidarity leader Lech Walesa, Mikhail Gorbachev and Kofi Annan. Last year's winner was Steven Spielberg whose Schindler's List Blair praises at length in A Journey. The £65,000 cash prize will go to Blair's faith foundation and African governance initiative.
P.S. If you haven't already, check out Roy Hattersley's excoriating review of A Journey from the current issue.
Latest tweets
More from New Statesman
- Online writers:
- Steven Baxter
- Rowenna Davis
- David Allen Green
- Mehdi Hasan
- Nelson Jones
- Gavin Kelly
- Helen Lewis
- Laurie Penny
- The V Spot
- Alex Hern
- Martha Gill
- Alan White
- Samira Shackle
- Alex Andreou
- Nicky Woolf in America
- Bim Adewunmi
- Glosswitch
- Kate Mossman on pop
- Ryan Gilbey on Film
- Martin Robbins
- Rafael Behr
- Eleanor Margolis
- Tools and services:
- Polls
- Predictions
- Archive
- Magazine
- PDF edition
- RSS feeds
- Advertising
- Subscribe
- Special supplements
- Stockists




















26 comments
A useful neologism for our dreadful times of mainstream media and politician lying and spin is "slie" or "spin-based untruth" and thence sliar and slying.
Blair was guilty of slying when he adverted to intelligence indicating Iraqi Weapons of Mass Destruction and a serious Iraqi threat to Britain - we now know from the testimony of former head of MI5, Baroness Elizabeth Manningham-Buller to the Chilcot Inquiry that Iraq did not have WMD, that it posed no significant threat to the UK and that the War on Terror has increased the terrorism threat.
However Blair had a peculiarly earnest evangelical style of assertion that is simply described as blather and hence the need for another neologism, specifically "blies" or "blather-based untruths" and thence "bliar" and "blying".
Deputy PM Nick Clegg has admitted to the House of Commons that the Iraq Invasion was illegal. The World's disapprobation of bliar Blair for slies, slying, blies, and blying must be transmuted into action against Blair (and all his associates) for war crimes.
In Occupied Iraq and Occupied Afghanistan post-invasion violent deaths and non-violent avoidable deaths from occupier-imposed deprivation now total 2.5 million and 4.5 million, respectively (see Iraqi Holocaust, Iraqi Genocide: https://sites.google.com/site/iraqiholocaustiraqigenocide/ and Afghan Holocaust, Afghan Genocide": https://sites.google.com/site/afghanholocaustafghangenocide/ ).
Nobel Laureate Harold Pinter demanded war crimes trials for Bush and Blair, stating in his 2005 Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech that "How many people do you have to kill before you qualify to be described as a mass murderer and a war criminal? One hundred thousand? More than enough, I would have thought."
In 2010, informed by top medical epidemiologists and UN Agencies, reasonable and decent people can state after the fashion of the late Harold Pinter: "How many people do you have to kill before you qualify to be described as a mass murderer and a war criminal? Seven million? More than enough, I would have thought."
I wish Tony Balir would disapppear and go and live in USA! Tony they Love You, not sure about the rest of the world!
In the UK, Tony Blair has taken Liberties in Great Britain!!!! hirarious!!!!
Does anyone really believe Tony Blair can make a difference in Israel! the Israel are just going to ignore him. I'm pro-Israel and know he is not going to make the slights difference! Prove me wrong!
When Blair started with his 'people's princess' and 'your struggle is our struggle'guff you just knew we were in the soft and brown.He is so full of himself, isn't he? Wonder if he was paid to accept the award?
'...yet many compare Cameron with the man you attack.'
Many is the key word! Reginald can see the wood from the trees! Our Great Leader David Cameron PM is a very oustanding and fabulous Prime Minister!
David Cameron prime minister for a long time!!!
'O Liberty! O Liberty ! Thy name is taken in vain'. It wasn't me that said it.
The world is a lot more dangerous place since Blair's term of Office
OK, he may have done NI and Sierra Leone a service, but the rest of the world is a lot less secure.
Gideon
Even Saddams own ministers thought he had weapons of mass destruction. The Iraq survey group in its investigations after the war interviewed the key figures and concluded that, The programme was on hold with all the components to restart the production and development of chemical weapons as soon as the sanctions were lifted.
Lets also remember Hans Blix and Dr Kelly both said on record before the war started they believed Saddam was hiding weapons and the technology from them.
Every intelligence agency including all the Arab countries thought he still retained weapons.
So please do not rewrite history and use hindsight as factual knowledge that would prove a lie.
As for post war deaths, they are firmly at the hands of insurgents mostly funded by Iran. The war was over in 10 days. The deaths still continue to this day carried out by extremists who are trying to destabilise Iraq. Perhaps in the spirit of fairness you would like to condem Iran for its state sponsored murder of 100's of thousands of Muslims?
Tell me please what kind of Iraq would we be looking at if Saddam was still in power and tll me just what you think Saddam would be doing about Iran aquiring nuclear capability?
Any idea on what the actual Iraqi people think about the war? Ever heard their voices being aired on our media?
Blair made a decision and he still up holds his reasons with a vigorous defence which has many merits. Lastly to go war needed the parliament to pass the orders in order for the military to go ahead. That vote contained more tory votes than Labour.
NI was mostly down to the IRA approaching John Major PM at the time! Tony Blair only finished the matter off!
IRA approaching John Major PM! key factor in the peace process!
Hilarious... Tony Blair... peace really!
@Reginald-Fah-fah - This is Blair, Mandy and Campbell rewriting history again. Those of us that remember, do remember that Major was the driving force and should have that legacy.
Best Blair quote ever happened when standing outside Stormont Castle:
"Now is not the time for soundbites, but i feel the hand of history on my shoulder."
As Blair receives his "Liberty Medal", Amnesty International reports that the Iraqi government is holding some 30,000 prisoners without charges or due process. In some instances the prisoners have been abused or even tortured.
http://bit.ly/cbYKzS
'This is Blair, Mandy and Campbell rewriting history again'... What in their books! Hilarious!
If it wasn't for a general election and a well known publicist attacking the Major Government with a sleeze campaign!
John Major should have been standing outside Stormont Castle!
"Now is not the time for soundbites, but I feel the hand of history on my shoulder." Nice quote and feel David Miliband should use in Labour Leadership debates!
top tip for 'Progressive Labour Party': David miliband use this quote and it may help you bet Ed Miliband!
Bloody Judas, I can think of something a bit more appropriate he should have around his neck.
So the haters are out in force again. When will you people not accept that the media in this country are running a vendetta against TB and in the world where he gets a fairer press they actually understand recognise his status in the world.
Some people will never get over the war in Iraq wellthats their problem most of us have moved on and will await the outcome for the people in the next few years.
A small but very vocal force are distorting history. Why can we not celebrate one of our own is being held is high regard by the rest of the world.
Thatcher was never held in as high regard and I can't think of any other Tory PM who comes close to Blair.
Like him or loathe him recognise his stature and admire his talent.
Despite the awards and medals, sashes and gongs (will he get an Oscar one day?), the strain is always evident. Haunted & hollowed out.
For those who want a view from a real Iraqi go to the article by the Kurdish UK commision on the progress in Iraq on the webb.
Read how investment is booming and the country is revelling in the opportunities post Saddam. Govt is developing and trades Unions are flourishing in the new prosperity.
Remember the Kurds lost 180,000 of its people to Saddam some to the weapons Saddam told the world he didnt have at the time.
To the Kurds Blair is a Liberator as he is to the Kosovans the people of Sierra Leone. The Stop the War coalition are distorting the truth and the media are complicit in a smear, trying to extract revenge without actually listening to the people who matter most.
Thank you for that, Clem the Gem, I was beginning to despair of this site!
So typical of Swatantra Nadanwar and Richard. Bomber Harris witnessed the Firestorm over London in 1940 and said "As you sow so shall you reap!"
We lost 64,000 civilians in the Second World War and had every right to stike back, Stalin asked for the mass bombing of Dresden.
An uncle of mine serving in a unit commanded by the father of a friend were amongst the first Allied Forces to liberate Belsen and they both had nightmares about what they found to the days they died. How many more millions do you idiots think would have been exterminated by the Nazis!
'recognise his stature and admire his talent.' Not doing Dvaid Miliband any good in the Labour Leadership race!
Ed Miliband has shown that 'Tony Blair Chat' doesn't work anymore!
Churchill was instrumental in setting up the pillars of our Welfare State with the reforms passed before 1914.
The governments of Blair and cameron were and are committed to tearing it down.
http://clemthegem.labourhome.org./
'Thatcher was never held in as high regard and I can't think of any other Tory PM who comes close to Blair.' Which PM would want to?
Our Great Leader David Cameron PM will set a bench mark! Even Tony Blair knows it!
Tony Blair:
'I don't want to make things difficult for David Cameron' Interview with Andrew Marr
Tony Blair PM:
'David Cameron is a threat'
Perhaps they should raise a statue to Blair on Ellis Island. On 2nd thoughts, not; it might be pulled down and beaten with shoes.
I wonder if some of the haters will ever get around to looking at the Iraqis and see if they themselves want to turn back the clock. Someone oneday might even post their vision of what kind of paradise Iraq would be now if Saddam and his mad sons were still there. Anyone care to express a view on just how Saddam would be countering the threat of a nuclear Iran on his door step?
Take off the tribal specs and have a serious thought of your own not the garbage from the stop the war coalition.
Kill a man, and you are a murderer. Kill thousands of men, and you are a conqueror. Kill everyone, and you are a god.
To some who have studied Winston Churchill the man was a monster.
The man was a racist a bully a liar and a mysogonist.
A drunk and a manic depressive.
Now how do you think he would have faired with todays media?
He was dumped at the first opportunity after the war when Labour won a landslide. The people were grateful but there was no way they were going to let him take them back to the slavery of the 20's and 30's with the decadence and excess of the toffs again.
Two different people two different media views.
For those who think Churchill was th bettr man then explain if you like but remember he bloody war crimes in his name with deliberate bombing of civilians in Dresden and Munic.
@Richard
Though Blair will be remembered for the folly of the Iraq war, there are plenty of other reasons to dislike this man.
1. Disregard for parliament and cabinet government and, by implication, democracy itself
2. Acceptance of dodgy donors (Ecclestone, Hinduja et al) and 'favours' repaid
3. Promotion of style over substance and the all-pervasive nature of news management
4. Pandering to the rich and odd (Beckhams, Berlusconi, Bush)
5. Betrayal of all the promises made in 1997 - the sense of let down by old Labour supporters was painful
6. Sucking up to the City in return for lucrative employment (too) soon after leaving office
7. Dubious personal tax affairs
8. Obsession with targets especially in education and health
9. Misguided assumption that 'everyone wants to be middle class'
10. Sucking up to Israel and failure to demand proper action over Gaza
11. Lack of decisiveness and desire to achieve compromise even though the result is ineffective (Hunting)
12. Desire to wage war readily (Kosovo, Somalia, Afganistan, Iraq)even if it may be illegal
13. His sanctimonious, money-grubbing, free-loading wife
Many good things were done, not due to his leadership but despite it. I include the minimum wage, smoking ban and NI peace (though even this owed a debt to John Major).
Churchill was from a different bygone age, a Victorian/Edwardian, with a society based on rigid class structure. He was born into an elite with the belief in the divine right to rule.
How he survived into the 1950's God knows. His beliefs and principles really died out in 1945. His real objective biography hasn't been written yet, but someday it will.
Well said Richard! The Blair basher's can say all they like but the fact is he is well respected by many and rightly so.
Reginald old boy: Face it our great leader of the past finished off a job wishy washy Major couldn't quite get round to. I salute Tony for his work in Ireland. He also did a lot better than your beloved Maggie when it came to ridding the world of evil like Saddam.
Now I must get back to reading Tony's book, what an inspiration he is!
Reginald: Think on this; you are loyal to the extreme of your man Cameron. You attack Tony Blair with a vengeance; yet many compare Cameron with the man you attack. Indeed, read through the 13 itemised points made by Neil and with a little modification you could almost apply (although, not in my thinking)each and every one of those points to Cameron. That makes him equally unpopular does it not?