Mr Cook accused Mr Blair of carefully selecting evidence from an "alphabet soup" of material to back up his conviction that the Iraqi leader had to be toppled.
Ms Short said Mr Blair had engaged in an "honourable deception", using "various ruses" to support his decision - made nine months before the war - that it was right for Britain to join the United States in deposing Saddam.
"I think the Prime Minister had said to President Bush, 'We will be with you'," Ms Short said.
Things seem to be going from bad to worse for Blair and co.
US President George W Bush has defended Prime Minister Tony Blair for the first time against allegations he exaggerated evidence of Iraq's alleged weapons program.
"He (Blair) operated on very sound intelligence and those accusations are simply not true," Bush said in a brief show of support for his embattled Iraq war ally.
Until now, the American president has steered clear of the controversy engulfing Blair, and the two leaders have had few public contacts in recent weeks.
hahaha why did blair bother, gee bush really jumped to his defense didnt he. seing rumsfeld put him in the poo anyway, its way better than shortland street
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