Gordon Carrera

The effort to get a second resolution fails because the French say they won't support it.

Blair, meanwhile, is facing this vote in Parliament on March the 18th.

This is another big moment for him because the US has woken up to the idea.

Congress has already authorised war back in October, but this is Blair's vote and it's coming on the eve of war.

And there's worry he might have to resign.

And he has a call with President Bush just before the vote in which Bush says, I want regime change in Baghdad, not London.

Ha ha ha ha ha ha.

This was supposed to be getting rid of Saddam, not Tony Blair, because he's worried that Blair will lose this vote in parliament and have to resign.

And he actually makes a really interesting offer, which is he says, you don't have to take part in the war.

You do not have to take part in the invasion.

You can just do the reconstruction afterwards.

I understand you're in a difficult position, but you can back out at this stage.

And I asked Blair about this years later and he confirmed it to me for the first time publicly

And said he had no regrets about turning that down.

He said they were offering me the way out because they felt sorry for the politically difficult situation that I was in.

But don't be under any doubt at all.

If Britain had left the alliance at that point, it would have had a significant impact on the relationship.

I was sure that our alliance depended on us doing this together.

That's what Tony Blair told me years later about why he turned down that offer from George W. Bush to back out at the last minute.

I think it's a very revealing statement because it tells you that