West still hasn't learned lessons of Iraq War

Most people realize the Iraq War was a mistake, and prominent politicians in the West, the United States included, have openly admitted this. That may well explain why former British prime minister Tony Blair's apology for the "mistakes" of the Iraq War has not caused much of a stir.

Yet, Blair's apology is still significant and it has once again drawn attention to the severe consequences of the war which the US-led West launched 12 years ago. The war only plunged Iraq and the Middle East region at large deeper into continuing turbulence.

"I apologize for the fact that the intelligence we received was wrong," Blair said in an interview broadcast on Sunday. "I also apologize for some of the mistakes in planning and, certainly, our mistake in our understanding of what would happen once you removed the regime."