Blair: "People Are Giving Us This Problem In Iraq"...

British Prime Minister Tony Blair appeared on ABC's This Week with host George Stephanopoulos Sunday morning to talk about continuing problems in Iraq. Stephanopoulos pressed Blair on pre-war Iraq and justifications for invasion. Blair became flustered and finally answered "we the have the problem now because people are giving us this problem."

Partial Transcript:

STEPHANOPOULOS: Your own former ambassador said that you personally didn't use enough leverage with President Bush to make sure that the right plans were in place for the post-war, and perhaps, to extend the timeline, to put off the invasion while the inspectors were there.

BLIAR: You know I think the inspectors could have stayed there a very long time and it wouldn't have made a difference...Saddam was not going to...cooperate.

STEPHANOPOULOS: But wouldn't it be better than what we have right now?

BLAIR: Well, you see, you've got to ask, 'why is it that we have the problem now?' And we the have the problem now because people are giving us this problem. People are deliberately creating a situation of destabilization in Iraq.

Watch the video...

From ABC.