On January 29, 2010, in testimony before the inquiry into the U.K.’s involvement in the war in Iraq, former Prime Minister Tony “Blair told the inquiry he had been ‘determined’ to stand ‘shoulder to shoulder’ with the U.S. despite their differing opinions over the reasons why war was necessary. ‘The Americans, in a sense, were saying, *We’re for regime change ’cause we don’t trust he’s [Saddam’s] ever going to give up his WMD ambitions,* ‘ Blair said. ‘We were saying, *We have to deal with his WMD ambitions. If that means regime change, so be it.* …I said I would stand shoulder to shoulder with them. We did that in Afghanistan, and I was determined to do that again’ in Iraq, Blair said.”
– “Blair: No ‘Covert’ Deal with Bush over Iraq,” CNN.com, Jan. 29, 2010