Blair urged to loosen ties with US

Ministers call for public disengagement

Senior figures across the Labour party are intensifying pressure on Tony Blair to publicly detach himself from the Bush administration, calling on him to spell out an independent British position on the Middle East, peacekeeping in Iraq and the US presidential election.

(snip)

Mr Blair has made clear to his supporters that he will not criticise President George Bush in public. In an interview with the Independent today the prime minister said it was not a time to start "messing around with your main ally".

But he is said to have conceded tha he will have to soften his stance on Iraq in the wake of the Abu Ghraib prison torture scandal. "Tony can seem a bit one-dimensional on Iraq because he is so sure that what he did was right. That has changed with the pictures from Abu Ghraib: he now realises that people who supported the war are very worried and have the right to ask: How did it end up like this?" one former minister said.

Mr Blair has also indicated that he will do more to court the Democrats, who are seeking to put Senator John Kerry in the White House. Mr Blair is understood to have heeded the advice of ministers who say that, unless his party can improve ties with the Democrats, the government will be badly exposed if Mr Kerry wins on November 2.

Ministers are expected to try to


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http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1216536,00.html

:kick:

I think president Kerry should tell Tony Blair to go to hell. He should deal with others in the Labour Party who actually support freedom, peace, integrity, and democracy. And he should make no secret about it. Screw the poodle.

Of course he won't, but a guy can dream right?

And tell him how it is. No more torture, no more corporatism and give Tony a box of Kleenex.

By Oonagh Blackman Deputy Political Editor

TONY Blair shouldered the blame for the escalating political crisis over Iraq yesterday.

He told a highly-charged Prime Minister's Question Time: "I have to accept responsibility for the position I am in and the position the country is in today because I am the Prime Minister who brought it about."

The PM unexpectedly tried to shield fellow Cabinet members and the Labour Party and openly betrayed his fears about the heavy cost of continuing to stand by President Bush.

His admission was a clear signal to Labour MPs that he is not ducking the serious damage Iraq is inflicting on the party and his leadership.

He condemned the beheading of US civilian hostage Nick Berg as "unjustified barbarism" and photos of American troops abusing Iraqi detainees, which he accepted had been a disaster for the coalition.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/allnews/tm_objectid=14235652%26method=full%26siteid=50143%26headline=blair%2dadmits%2dhe%2d%2dbrought%2dabout%2d%2diraq%2dcrisis%2d-name_page.html

Er poodle? It's not a tie, it's a collar & leash.

In the world of interesting coincidences, most of the world has see
the use of that combination quite recently ... with another giggling
girl holding the leash there too ...