--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We are asked now seriously to accept that…" description: "\"We are asked now seriously to accept that in the last few years-contrary to all history, contrary to all intelligence-Saddam decided unilaterally to de..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ba/tony-blair-812_absurd_we-are-asked-now-seriously-to-accept-tha_2740760.jpg" --- # We are asked now seriously to accept that in the last few… ![“We are asked now seriously to accept that in the last few years-contrary to all history, contrary to all intelligence-Saddam decided unilaterally to destroy those weapons. I say that such a claim is palpably absurd.” quote by Tony Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ba/tony-blair-812_absurd_we-are-asked-now-seriously-to-accept-tha_2740760.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ba/tony-blair-812_absurd_we-are-asked-now-seriously-to-accept-tha_2740760.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ba/tony-blair-812_absurd_we-are-asked-now-seriously-to-accept-tha_2740760.jpg) > “We are asked now seriously to accept that in the last few years-contrary to all history, contrary to all intelligence-Saddam decided unilaterally to destroy those weapons. I say that such a claim is palpably absurd.” [Tony Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-blair/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The claim that Saddam Hussein destroyed weapons unilaterally contradicts historical and intelligence evidence, making it implausible. **In simple terms:** The statement is absurd because evidence shows otherwise. Key Takeaway Question claims against evidence. Themes politics truth intelligence war propaganda historical analysis Mood skeptical critical concerned Type political historical When to use this quote - parliamentary debate - public statements - media reporting - policy formulation Key Concepts misinformation policy decision media narrative skepticism Questions to Reflect On - What evidence contradicts the claim? - How do political narratives shape public perception? A Different Perspective Claims may be politically motivated, not based on facts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Absurd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absurd/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Iraq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/iraq/) [Israel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/israel/) [Weapons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weapons/) ## Related quotes > [“That's the famous vampire Helgarson you're riding with, isn't it? Is he fond of lattes?" "I don't know." I looked over at Leif, who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-hearne/that-s-the-famous-vampire-helgarson-you-re-riding-with-isn-t-it-is-he/) [Kevin Hearne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-hearne/) > [ The view we took at the time and we take it now is that the war was justified legally because he \[Saddam Hussein\] remained… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-blair/the-view-we-took-at-the-time-and-we-take-it-now-is-that-the-war-was/) [Tony Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-blair/) > [The money from Iraqi oil will be yours - it will no longer be used by Saddam Hussein for his own benefit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-blair/the-money-from-iraqi-oil-will-be-yours-it-will-no-longer-be-used-by/) [Tony Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-blair/) > [ It \[the intelligence service\] concludes that Iraq has chemical and biological weapons, that Saddam has continued to produce them, that he has existing and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-blair/it-the-intelligence-service-concludes-that-iraq-has-chemical-and/) [Tony Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-blair/) > [I think all of our experience with (Iraqi President) Saddam Hussein teaches us that diplomacy has very little chance of working unless it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-blair/i-think-all-of-our-experience-with-iraqi-president-saddam-hussein/) [Tony Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-blair/) > [I may find Saddam Hussein's regime abhorrent - any normal person would - but the survival of it is in his hands.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-blair/i-may-find-saddam-hussein-s-regime-abhorrent-any-normal-person-would/) [Tony Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-blair/) > [I think we've, again, got to be extremely careful; otherwise we'll misunderstand what's going on in Iraq and in Syria today. Of course, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-blair/i-think-we-ve-again-got-to-be-extremely-careful-otherwise-we-ll/) [Tony Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-blair/) > [We've seen the reality of Saddam's regime: his thugs prepared to kill their own people, the parading of prisoners of war and now the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-blair/we-ve-seen-the-reality-of-saddam-s-regime-his-thugs-prepared-to-kill/) [Tony Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-blair/) > [The evidence about Saddam having actual biological and chemical weapons, as opposed to the capability to develop them, has turned out to be wrong.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-blair/the-evidence-about-saddam-having-actual-biological-and-chemical/) [Tony Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-blair/) > [Conflict is not inevitable, but disarmament is... everyone now accepts that if there is a default by Saddam the international community must act to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-blair/conflict-is-not-inevitable-but-disarmament-is-everyone-now-accepts/) [Tony Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-blair/) > [ What we also know is we haven't found them \[weapons of mass destruction\] in Iraq - now let the survey group complete its work… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-blair/what-we-also-know-is-we-haven-t-found-them-weapons-of-mass/) [Tony Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-blair/) > [Saddam Hussein's regime is despicable, he is developing weapons of mass destruction, and we cannot leave him doing so unchecked. He is a threat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-blair/saddam-hussein-s-regime-is-despicable-he-is-developing-weapons-of/) [Tony Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-blair/) > [As I have said throughout, I have no doubt that they will find the clearest possible evidence of Saddam's weapons of mass destruction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-blair/as-i-have-said-throughout-i-have-no-doubt-that-they-will-find-the/) [Tony Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-blair/) > [We promise that the events of 1991 will not happen again - we have pledged to remove Saddam and we will deliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-blair/we-promise-that-the-events-of-1991-will-not-happen-again-we-have/) [Tony Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-blair/) > [I believe Saddam Hussein's strategic objective was, and remains, to assert dominance over the Gulf region.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandy-berger/i-believe-saddam-hussein-s-strategic-objective-was-and-remains-to/) [Sandy Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandy-berger/) ## More by Tony Blair > [I happen to think it's the politics that makes you electable, but the reason for that is politicians sometimes talk about electability as if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-blair/i-happen-to-think-it-s-the-politics-that-makes-you-electable-but-the/) [Tony Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-blair/) > [I have absolutely no doubt at all that we will find evidence of weapons of mass destruction programmes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-blair/i-have-absolutely-no-doubt-at-all-that-we-will-find-evidence-of/) [Tony Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-blair/) > [I mean, you can agree or disagree with Iraq or Afghanistan, but by the way, now the great campaigning cause out there is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-blair/i-mean-you-can-agree-or-disagree-with-iraq-or-afghanistan-but-by-the/) [Tony Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-blair/) > [My dad was a militant atheist, or is a militant atheist. My mum was sort of bought up in a religious family because she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-blair/my-dad-was-a-militant-atheist-or-is-a-militant-atheist-my-mum-was/) [Tony Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-blair/) > [Politics may be the art of the possible, but at least in life, give the impossible a go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-blair/politics-may-be-the-art-of-the-possible-but-at-least-in-life-give-the/) [Tony Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-blair/) > [I also, as I think most people do, have a healthy instinct that if we upset the balance of nature, we are in all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-blair/i-also-as-i-think-most-people-do-have-a-healthy-instinct-that-if-we/) [Tony Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-blair/) > [It is not a sensible or intelligent response for us in Europe to ridicule American arguments and parody their political leadership.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-blair/it-is-not-a-sensible-or-intelligent-response-for-us-in-europe-to/) [Tony Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-blair/) > [I am absolutely delighted to give my full support to Gordon as the next leader of the Labour Party and as prime minister and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-blair/i-am-absolutely-delighted-to-give-my-full-support-to-gordon-as-the/) [Tony Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-blair/) > [Society works by putting opportunity and responsibility together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-blair/society-works-by-putting-opportunity-and-responsibility-together/) [Tony Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-blair/) > [The great advantage of the Lib Dems is precisely that no-one knows what they stand for](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-blair/the-great-advantage-of-the-lib-dems-is-precisely-that-no-one-knows/) [Tony Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-blair/) > [People know where I stand in the Labour party and what I believe in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-blair/people-know-where-i-stand-in-the-labour-party-and-what-i-believe-in/) [Tony Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-blair/) > [The only society that works today is also one founded on mutual respect, on a recognition that we have a responsibility collectively and individually,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-blair/the-only-society-that-works-today-is-also-one-founded-on-mutual/) [Tony Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-blair/) > [How do we deal with not just the acts of violence, but the extremist ideology that lies behind them? Because though the numbers of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-blair/how-do-we-deal-with-not-just-the-acts-of-violence-but-the-extremist/) [Tony Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-blair/) > [The public think the politicians don't know or care about their lives; and the politicians feel misunderstood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-blair/the-public-think-the-politicians-don-t-know-or-care-about-their-lives/) [Tony Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-blair/) > [I think it's important for people like me to evaluate and reevaluate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-blair/i-think-it-s-important-for-people-like-me-to-evaluate-and-reevaluate/) [Tony Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-blair/) [Explore all 363 Tony Blair quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-blair/) ## More Absurd quotes > [“It seem absurd to me that they don't know, haven't felt any change or tremor, even as my life has been completely turned upside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/it-seem-absurd-to-me-that-they-don-t-know-haven-t-felt-any-change-or/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [When a person’s tongue is extensively wrong, it is absurd, no less than unscriptural, to say that their heart is right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-c-ryle/when-a-person-s-tongue-is-extensively-wrong-it-is-absurd-no-less-than/) [J. C. Ryle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-c-ryle/) > [Every sensible man, every honorable man, must hold the Christian sect in horror." "Christianity is the most ridiculous, the most absurd and bloody religion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/every-sensible-man-every-honorable-man-must-hold-the-christian-sect/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [It is human nature to think wisely and to act in an absurd fashion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatole-france/it-is-human-nature-to-think-wisely-and-to-act-in-an-absurd-fashion/) [Anatole France](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatole-france/) > [It is a dangerous and fateful presumption, besides the absurd temerity that it implies, to disdain what we do not comprehend. For after you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-a-dangerous-and-fateful-presumption-besides-the-absurd-temerity/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I thought to myself: if it’s true that every person has a star in the sky, mine must be distant, dim, and absurd. Perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadegh-hedayat/i-thought-to-myself-if-it-s-true-that-every-person-has-a-star-in-the/) [Sadegh Hedayat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadegh-hedayat/) > [If, indeed, a firearm were more dangerous to its possessors than to potential aggressors, would it not make sense for the government to arm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/if-indeed-a-firearm-were-more-dangerous-to-its-possessors-than-to/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [“You were torturing a cat," she says. "With a freaking prod." "A prod I built myself in metal shop," he says. "But of course…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/you-were-torturing-a-cat-she-says-with-a-freaking-prod-a-prod-i-built/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [I have never heard enough classical music to be able to enjoy it; & the simple truth is, I detest it. Not mildly, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-have-never-heard-enough-classical-music-to-be-able-to-enjoy-it-the/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [To deprecate human reason by saying that none of us is or can be omniscient is absurd, for it takes an impossible standard as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-rothbard/to-deprecate-human-reason-by-saying-that-none-of-us-is-or-can-be/) [Murray Rothbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-rothbard/) > [“Rachel got up and did this happy little shuffle, like she was some cheerful farmer chick who'd just stepped outside to find the hick…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/rachel-got-up-and-did-this-happy-little-shuffle-like-she-was-some/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [The absurd duty, too often inculcated, of obeying a parent only on account of his being a parent, shackles the mind, and prepares it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft/the-absurd-duty-too-often-inculcated-of-obeying-a-parent-only-on/) [Mary Wollstonecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wollstonecraft/) > [The workman of today works every day in his life at the same tasks, and this fate is no less absurd. But it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-workman-of-today-works-every-day-in-his-life-at-the-same-tasks/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [I was once part of a Christmas cabaret. I sang 'I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus.' I tap-danced. I had a ten-gallon hat. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-dinklage/i-was-once-part-of-a-christmas-cabaret-i-sang-i-saw-mommy-kissing/) [Peter Dinklage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-dinklage/) > [Solitude produces originality, bold and astonishing beauty, poetry. But solitude also produces perverseness, the disproportianate, the absurd and the forbidden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mann/solitude-produces-originality-bold-and-astonishing-beauty-poetry-but/) [Thomas Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mann/) [Browse all 1,644 Absurd quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absurd/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We are asked now seriously to accept that in the last few years-contrary to all history, contrary to all intelligence-Saddam decided unilaterally to destroy those weapons. I say that such a claim is palpably absurd.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Tony Blair" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-blair/we-are-asked-now-seriously-to-accept-that-in-the-last-few-years/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Absurd" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-blair/we-are-asked-now-seriously-to-accept-that-in-the-last-few-years/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ba/tony-blair-812_absurd_we-are-asked-now-seriously-to-accept-tha_2740760.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ba/tony-blair-812_absurd_we-are-asked-now-seriously-to-accept-tha_2740760.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ba/tony-blair-812_absurd_we-are-asked-now-seriously-to-accept-tha_2740760.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We are asked now seriously to accept that in the last few years-contrary to all history, contrary to all…” — Tony Blair", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Tony Blair", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-blair/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We are asked now seriously to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-blair/we-are-asked-now-seriously-to-accept-that-in-the-last-few-years/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-blair/we-are-asked-now-seriously-to-accept-that-in-the-last-few-years/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```