Yale Daily News

"But the elder Blair said he does not want to be treated as merely a VIP when visiting campus"

He is not a VIP - he is a warmonger who has caused the deaths of over a million people. It is totally Orwellian that he should be treated as some sort of respected statesman with this sort of a gruesome record.

Or do Iraqis and Afghans, Palestinians and Lebanese simply not count according to those who appointed him to this position at Yale?

Maybe you should take this as an opportunity to learn from someone who has viewpoints that differ from your own, Athena.

If you stop slinging insults at democratically elected officials and listen to their logic with an open mind, you'll learn much more than if you stay in your ideological corner and regurgitate left-wing talking points on cue.

Agree or disagree with him, you must admit that Tony Blair has had a lifetime of experience in politics that makes him a viable educator.

And who better to explain the logic that led to the Iraq War? Ask him tough questions. That's what he's here for. Just be sure to listen to the answers.

Sarah D - I have done nothing but 'listen' to this man for the 10 years he was prime minister of my country. I even helped elect him in 1997. And for that I am truly sorry to all the people that he has murdered and all the lives he has destroyed.

I do not agree that a war criminal is a 'viable educator'. Perhaps you should ask yourself why you are not offended by the mountain of lies that this man told that enabled him to murder over a million people across the Mid-East, not to mention the thousands of young soldiers sent to die on a lie.

It is no conspiracy and nothing peculiar to the left to acknowledge that this man lied out of his teeth. The evidence is out there in the open - the Downing Street Memo is but one sliver of this evidence.

I am not quite sure where you are coming from but it would do you some good to rediscover some humanity.

Athena - How about those who perished in 9/11 and the lives of innocent people who were victims of suicide bomber? Were they not entitle to justice? Mr. Blair did what he was supposed to do and what he believed the right thing to do. In fact, in my personal opinion, those soldiers who are fighting to combat terrorism are brave cause those extremist cannot fight them face to face. Terrorist hit and run, is that bravery or cowardness?

Wow, that was a really bad response to the points brought up by #3. Did you seriously just equate the war in Iraq with 9/11?

"In fact, in my personal opinion,..."

Athena,

Believe me when I tell you this: I am no supporter of the War, or of Tony Blair's policies. A great many of them were train wrecks--much of the world can agree on this.

But do you actually believe that these mistakes were done with the intention of killing and the intention of destruction? Do you think he is an evil soul with insatiable bloodlust who delights in dead Iraqis? Do you think he craves war and loathes peace?

He was a high-profile elected leader with a life of experience in professional politics. For all I'm concerned, that qualifies him to direct discussion in a seminar on globalization at Yale.

Last, contrary to the personal insult that ended your comment, I think I have humanity. Maybe it is wrong to assume that I am an awful person because I disagree with you regarding Tony Blair's teaching credentials.

Kinda connects to my first comment, actually.

#4, what does Iraq have to do with 9/11? I thought Mr Bush/Blair went there for WMD not for 9/11. Check your fact please.

"But do you actually believe that these mistakes were done with the intention of killing and the intention of destruction? Do you think he is an evil soul with insatiable bloodlust who delights in dead Iraqis"

Do you not know the definition of war Sarah? And there are not many left who regard the invasion of Iraq as a 'mistake'. There is too much evidence to show that it was based on lies spin and propaganda.

Millions took to the streets to oppose this war - 2 million in my own city of London. We all saw through the lies and deceit. And we certainly all knew that invading a country would end in the mass murder of civilians. That is not rocket science.

5 years later there is an estimated 1.2 million Iraqis dead - and that's not even to mention Afghanistan. Anyone who was truly against war would bother to check their facts and see through these imperialist adventures. And they certainly would not welcome Tony Blair teaching at Yale in an attempt to rehabilitate him as some sort of respected statesman.

He is not respected - he is one of the most despised leaders of modern history. His nickname is B-Liar and he will go down in history (the honest version) as the war criminal that he is.

Shame on those who wish to re-write history and in the process treat the countless dead Iraqis, Afghans and soldiers - killed on a lie - as totally worthless.