British Author Tariq Ali on the Resignation of Tony Blair: “The Fact That He’s Leaving is Because He’s So Hated”

British Prime Minister Tony Blair has announced his plans to resign next month after more than a decade in power. British author Tariq Ali talks about Blair’s legacy, his fatal decision to follow the Bush administration into Iraq, and his likely successor, finance minister Gordon Brown.

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Blair made the announcement on Thursday in a speech to Labour Party members in his Sedgefield constituency. He will stay on in Downing Street until the Labour Party elects a new leader - widely expected to be finance minister Gordon Brown. In his address, Blair defended his decision to send British troops to war in Iraq.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Blair, President Bush’s closest ally, invoked 9/11 to defend his staunch backing of US foreign policy.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Back in Washington, President Bush paid tribute to Tony Blair at a Pentagon news conference.

President Bush.

We go to London to speak with British author Tariq Ali.

• Tariq Ali. Historian, one of the editors of the New Left Review as well as the author of many books, including “Rough Music: Blair Bombs Baghdad London Terror.”