Iraq, bank reform and the iPad

This week, we look at comment from the business press on Tony Blair’s testimony about his Iraq war decisions, as heard by the Chilcot Commission. We also look at Barack Obama’s bank-reform proposals as well as comment on Apple’s newest product, the iPad.

A statesman

The Wall Street Journal praises the way former British prime minister Tony Blair defended his decision to go to war with Iraq.

… “The decision I took — and frankly would take again — was, if there was any possibility that he [Saddam Hussein] could develop weapons of mass destruction, we would stop him,” Mr. Blair told the commission. Listening to him, we are reminded why he ranks with Margaret Thatcher as a pre-eminent statesman of postwar British politics, an achievement unlikely to be matched by the Lilliputians who seek to embarrass him.

A stomach to fight

US President Barack Obama’s proposals to limit the size and risk-taking activities of banks is a good start to get reform going, writes the Financial Times.

… [E]ven though the “Volcker rule” proposals outlined by Mr Obama are deeply flawed and unlikely to pass Congress in their current form, serious reform now looks plausible. That is why the bankers are now entering the argument, proposing financial reforms. … Mr Obama has shown the stomach for a fight. Other world leaders should join him.

Hope for the print media?

Apple’s latest product, the iPad, could benefit some, but not all media companies, writes The Economist.

… Tablets could eventually lead to a wholesale switch to digital delivery, which would allow newspapers and book publishers to cut costs by closing down printing presses. If [Apple CEO Steve] Jobs manages to pull off another amazing trick with another brilliant device, then the benefits of the digital revolution to media companies with genuinely popular products may soon start to outweigh the costs. But some media companies are dying, and a new gadget will not resurrect them. Even the Jesus Tablet cannot perform miracles.