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Blair linked god to iraq war decision { March 5 2006 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)    http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0603050380mar05,1,3821728.story?coll=chi-newsnationworld-hed http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0603050380mar05,1,3821728.story?coll=chi-newsnationworld-hed IRAQ IN TRANSITION: IN BRITAIN Blair says God will judge his Iraq call 1st time he has linked religion to decisions New York Times News Service Published March 5, 2006 LONDON -- Prime Minister Tony Blair has indicated that he believes God will judge his decision to commit British troops to fight alongside U.S. forces in Iraq. The remarks, which surprised some anti-war campaigners, were made on an Independent Television talk show scheduled for weekend broadcast. A transcript was released by the ITV station Friday. Blair has made no secret of his Christian faith, but he has not previously ascribed policy decisions to his religion. In the past, he refused to answer questions by an interviewer about whether he had prayed with President Bush. In the interview Saturday on the "Parkinson" show, Blair was asked about sending troops to Iraq, ITV said. "That decision has to be taken and has to be lived with," he said, according to the ITV transcript, "and in the end there is a judgment that--well, I think if you have faith about these things, then you realize that judgment is made by other people." Asked to explain, he replied, "If you believe in God, it's made by God as well. "This is not just a matter of a policy here or a thing there, but of their lives and in some cases their death," he said. "The only way you can take a decision like that is to try to do the right thing, according to your conscience, and for the rest of it you leave it to the judgment that history will make." The Iraq war has proved unpopular with many Britons. Rose Gentle, an anti-war activist whose son died with British forces in Iraq, said: "A good Christian wouldn't be for this war. I'm actually quite disgusted by the comments. It's a joke." The show host asked Blair: "So will you pray to God when you make a decision like that?" He replied: "Well, I don't want to get into something like that. Of course, you struggle with your own conscience about it because people's lives are affected and it's one of these situations that I suppose very few people ever find themselves in. In the end, you do what you think is the right thing." Copyright © 2006, Chicago Tribune

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