"Still, one of the documents released with the report, a letter from Blair to Bush on December 4, 2001, does contain a hint that things could have been even more disastrous. After suggesting military actions to take place in Iraq, the Philippines, Somalia, Yemen, and Indonesia, Blair turns to Syria and Iran. His advice here begins: “If toppling Saddam is a prime objective, it is far easier to do it with Syria and Iran in favor or acquiescing rather than hitting all three at once.” Given how ruinous the destruction of Iraq alone has been, it is stunning to contemplate where the world might be now had that war also involved simultaneous attacks on Syria and Iran, something Blair’s note suggests was at least discussed in Washington at the time."