Tony Blair's participation trophy

It probably says, "Heckuva job" on it.

In the end, the British government “failed to achieve its stated objectives,” the inquiry concluded, and said that “Mr. Blair overestimated his ability to influence U.S. decisions on Iraq.”

Mr. Blair was said to have been advised by his diplomats and ministers of “the inadequacy of U.S. plans” and their concern “about the inability to exert significant influence on U.S. planning.” But he chose to override their objections.

The inquiry concluded, bluntly: “Mr. Blair eventually succeeded only in the narrow goal of securing President Bush’s agreement that there should be U.N. authorization of the post-conflict role.”

Influence, it said, “should not be set as an objective in itself.”

“The exercise of influence is a means to an end,” it said.

But, of course, influence is "an objective in itself." Piling up as much influence.. and of course money.. as possible is the whole name of this game. And the way to win at that is by never challenging power or convention regardless of the moral consequences which, ideally, never come up at all.