By Julian Gavaghan: 13:40 GMT, 21 May 2012 The Mail
'You're a war criminal!' Tony Blair heckled as he gives graduation speech at U.S. college
Tony Blair was heckled by protesters who branded him a 'war criminal' as he gave a graduation speech
at an American college.
The former British prime minister, 59, had to break off his his address as he spoke to 400 graduates
and their guests at Colby College, in Maine.
Protesters shouted phrases such as 'warmonger' and 'You're a war criminal' during his speech. One
person was arrested.
<a href="http://s1267.photobucket.com/albums/jj559/365Wildfire/?action=view&current=article-2147568-133330CA000005DC-654_634x390.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1267.photobucket.com/albums/jj559/365Wildfire/article-2147568-133330CA000005DC-654_634x390.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
In his address, Blair appealed for international cooperation and for people to try to understand other
cultures.
The former premier, who served from 1997 to 2007, backed the U.S. in it so-called war on terror and
took Britain to war in Afghanistan and Iraq.
His decision to send troops to topple Saddam Hussein prompted widespread criticism, including a
massive anti-war march in London which attracted more than one million demonstrators.
But, while he has long been dogged by demonstrations in Britain carrying out stunts like trying to
arrest him, it is the first time his appearances in the U.S. have been hijacked by protesters.
<a href="http://s1267.photobucket.com/albums/jj559/365Wildfire/?action=view&current=article-2147568-08121031000005DC-409_634x426.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1267.photobucket.com/albums/jj559/365Wildfire/article-2147568-08121031000005DC-409_634x426.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
Anger at Blair stems from the fact his Labour government sold the case for war on a so-called 'dodgy'
dossier based on false information claiming Saddam had weapons of mass destruction.
Much of it was found to be plagarised from a PhD thesis and many protesters claim Blair knew its
contentions - such as that Iraq could deploy chemical warheads within 45 minutes - were lies.
<a href="http://s1267.photobucket.com/albums/jj559/365Wildfire/?action=view&current=article-2147568-0B09CC75000005DC-1_634x382.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1267.photobucket.com/albums/jj559/365Wildfire/article-2147568-0B09CC75000005DC-1_634x382.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
'You're a war criminal!' Tony Blair heckled as he gives graduation speech at U.S. college
Tony Blair was heckled by protesters who branded him a 'war criminal' as he gave a graduation speech
at an American college.
The former British prime minister, 59, had to break off his his address as he spoke to 400 graduates
and their guests at Colby College, in Maine.
Protesters shouted phrases such as 'warmonger' and 'You're a war criminal' during his speech. One
person was arrested.
<a href="http://s1267.photobucket.com/albums/jj559/365Wildfire/?action=view&current=article-2147568-133330CA000005DC-654_634x390.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1267.photobucket.com/albums/jj559/365Wildfire/article-2147568-133330CA000005DC-654_634x390.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
In his address, Blair appealed for international cooperation and for people to try to understand other
cultures.
The former premier, who served from 1997 to 2007, backed the U.S. in it so-called war on terror and
took Britain to war in Afghanistan and Iraq.
His decision to send troops to topple Saddam Hussein prompted widespread criticism, including a
massive anti-war march in London which attracted more than one million demonstrators.
But, while he has long been dogged by demonstrations in Britain carrying out stunts like trying to
arrest him, it is the first time his appearances in the U.S. have been hijacked by protesters.
<a href="http://s1267.photobucket.com/albums/jj559/365Wildfire/?action=view&current=article-2147568-08121031000005DC-409_634x426.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1267.photobucket.com/albums/jj559/365Wildfire/article-2147568-08121031000005DC-409_634x426.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
Anger at Blair stems from the fact his Labour government sold the case for war on a so-called 'dodgy'
dossier based on false information claiming Saddam had weapons of mass destruction.
Much of it was found to be plagarised from a PhD thesis and many protesters claim Blair knew its
contentions - such as that Iraq could deploy chemical warheads within 45 minutes - were lies.
<a href="http://s1267.photobucket.com/albums/jj559/365Wildfire/?action=view&current=article-2147568-0B09CC75000005DC-1_634x382.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1267.photobucket.com/albums/jj559/365Wildfire/article-2147568-0B09CC75000005DC-1_634x382.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
