Post date: Sep 04, 2010 4:19:59 PM
Protesters heckle former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, as he continues promoting his new book including a Friday TV appearance where he praised the Middle East peace talks.
IRELAND-BLAIR MIDEAST - Anti-war protesters lash out at former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, tossing shoes and other objects -- none of which hit him.
Blair made this stop at a Dublin bookstore to sign copies of his new book about working in government.
Anti-war critics condemn the former prime minister for his support of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.
On Friday, Blair gave his first foreign televised interview since the book was published.
The wide-ranging discussion hit on a number of topics.
As an envoy to the Middle East now, he praised the renewed Israeli-Palestinian peace talks now underway in Washington.
FORMER BRITISH PRIME MINISTER, TONY BLAIR, SAYING:
(QUESTION: DID YOU EVER FEEL LIKE TURNING YOUR BACK ON THIS?)
"No, I didn't and now I do the Middle East peace process with the Israelis and the Palestinians and I feel the same way. I feel it can be settled, it's difficult, because of the history, you actually can't blame people in a sense for being unreasonable, they've been through really hard times, and you've just got to carry on going the whole time."
Blair also defended his support of the Iraq war.
He said Saddam Hussein posed a serious threat of using weapons of mass destruction.
FORMER BRITISH PRIME MINISTER, TONY BLAIR, SAYING:
"Would you take the risk of allowing him to do that? We know what he did before, he developed them and he used them. Now, you may say that we could have used sanctions and contained him. Fine, you can take that view, but I took the view then and I take it now, that, with this man, and the hundreds of thousands of people who died under him - it wasn't worth leaving that risk in place. And I say this to you because we're about to face the same issue in respect of Iran.
Speaking further on Iran, Blair argued for the possibility of tough actions.
FORMER BRITISH PRIME MINISTER, TONY BLAIR, SAYING:
"I think you have got to try sanctions, you've got to try diplomacy, but I think you can't rule anything out including military action if they carry on developing nuclear weapons capability.
Blair's book -- titled "A Journey" -- is expected to become a bestseller.
David Botti, Reuters