July 30, 2007

Bush & Blair Brown: Still 'Special'

UPDATED.

Anyone looking for signs British Prime Minister Gordon Brown is distancing himself from Washington on the Iraq war will be gravely disappointed.

In a joint press conference at Camp David today, Brown and his host, President Bush, delivered a harmonious assessment of their relationship and the way forward in Iraq. Brown also seemed to take pains to step closer to Bush on the war.

"We strongly support a bold initiative to make early progress in the Mideast," Brown said, summing up the two leaders' Sunday night and Monday morning talks. "Afghanistan continues to be the front line in the war on terrorism. On Iran, we are in agreement that the sanctions are working."

Minutes later, as Bush and Brown took questions from reporters, Brown was asked whether he disagreed with Bush's assertion that Iraq is the new front line in the war on terror. Brown seemed to backtrack on his earlier response.

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Posted at 2:08 PM
Posted to: Bush Administration, Europe, Gordon Brown, Iraq, Middle East, President Bush, Tony Blair, U.K.
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Bush & Brown Get Down To Business

Newly minted British Prime Minister Gordon Brown arrived at Camp David last night, ready for his first official stateside visit with President Bush.

Eyes on both sides of the Atlantic are focused on the relationship between the two leaders. Some analysts predict British public opinion on Iraq will ensure that Brown will never draw as close to the president as former Prime Minister Tony Blair did; others point to Brown's statements calling the U.S.-U.K. alliance the country's “single most important bilateral relationship" and suggest they will enjoy a positive relationship.

Topics on tap for the rest of the two-day meeting: Iraq, Afghanistan, Darfur, Iran and Kosovo.

Posted at 7:47 AM
Posted to: Bush Administration, Europe, Gordon Brown, President Bush, Tony Blair, U.K.
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July 25, 2007

Gadhafi: Still A Menace?

Libya's release of six Bulgarian medics who had been sentenced to die has earned that country loads of goodwill from Europe and the U.S. France's pledge of $400 million in compensation for the families who allege the group infected their children with HIV helped secure the deal; meanwhile, the EU is now preparing a substantial aid package for the northern African nation. President Bush recently named the first U.S. ambassador to Libya in more than three decades, and today, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said she looked forward to paying Tripoli a visit soon.

It's an odd reversal for a nation once considered to be a sponsor of terrorism. In the 1980s, Moammar Gadhafi was right up there with the late Ayatollah Khomeini on America's enemies list. An alliance of conservatives and human rights groups whose memories stretch back to the 1980s aren't happy with the turnabout.

Gadhafi's decision to give up his nuclear weapons logically precipitated warmer relations with the West, but the Wall Street Journal balks: "The blackmail habit is hard to shake, and rewarding a dictator for hostage-taking is fraught with moral hazards." A director of U.S.-based Physicians for Human Rights complained, "This is really an outrageous case, in which the lives of these nurses and medic were literally ransomed for $400 million.... There is nothing to prevent the future scapegoating of foreign health workers and holding them hostage in exchange for foreign aid."

Indeed, the West's embrace of Gadhafi comes as Taliban militants hold a South Korean church group hostage in Afghanistan. One was killed earlier today.

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Posted at 7:23 PM
Posted to: Africa, Bush Administration, Condoleezza Rice, Europe, France, Libya, Nuclear Weapons, Terrorism, Tony Blair, U.K.
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July 02, 2007

U.K. To Rethink Detainee Policies Following Terror Plot

Britain is on its highest-level terror alert as officials scramble to head off what The Economist is calling that nation's "dreadful summer ritual" -- coordinated homegrown plots by Islamic radicals.

Officials believe the failed car bombings in London and Glasgow may have been part of a coordinated plot. Seven people, all of whom are believed to be foreigners, have been arrested.

This is the second consecutive year Britain has thwarted a potentially massive terror plot since the 7/7 London transit attacks in 2005. In a statement to the British Commons today, Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said the government might rethink its detention policies for suspected terrorists.

"There may well be a case for looking very carefully at the amount of time that we are able to detain people pre-charge in order to ensure the very best opportunity to bring convictions," she said.

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Posted at 10:39 AM
Posted to: Europe, Terrorism, Tony Blair, U.K.
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June 27, 2007

Tony Blair: An Emotional Farewell & A New Challenge

UPDATED.

It's official. Tony Blair tendered his resignation as prime minister of Great Britain in a private meeting with Queen Elizabeth II this afternoon at Buckingham Palace. Just a few hours later, Blair was officially named a new envoy to the Middle East, charged with leading the peace process on behalf of the United States, United Nations, European Union and Russia.

Blair's former chancellor, Gordon Brown, took the helm shortly after Blair's official resignation, declaring outside 10 Downing Street, "Let the work of change begin."

Earlier, Blair spent his final morning at Downing Street clearing out his offices, bidding farewell to staffers and engaging in his final parliamentary session.

In an emotional appearance at the House of Commons, Blair paid tribute to the troops serving in Afghanistan and Iraq and then spent about a half-hour answering final questions from members on domestic issues and foreign affairs. The sometimes hard-hitting questions were mixed with hearty congratulations, and Blair solicited laughter from his colleagues on several occasions. He finished by acknowledging his "fear" and "respect" for the House during his 10-year reign as prime minister and praised the political process as the "place for the pursuit of noble causes."

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Posted at 12:30 PM
Posted to: Middle East, Tony Blair
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June 26, 2007

Blair To Be Named Envoy

Tony Blair won't be available for tea after he leaves 10 Downing Street.

Instead, he'll be shuttling between the Palestinians and Israelis as the special envoy for the Mideast Quartet. The outgoing British prime minister wouldn't confirm the appointment, but AP quotes Blair as saying from London, "I think that anybody who cares about greater peace and stability in the world knows that a lasting and enduring resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian issue is essential.... As I have said on many occasions, I would do whatever I could to help such a resolution come about."

AP also reports that the members of the international diplomatic Quartet -- the United States, United Nations, European Union and Russia -- plan to make simultaneous announcements from Washington, New York, Brussels and Moscow tomorrow.

Posted at 1:30 PM
Posted to: Europe, Middle East, Tony Blair, U.K.
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May 17, 2007

Bush And Blair's Long Kiss Goodnight

The sight of President Bush and Tony Blair defiantly defending their relationship at the White House today will probably inspire snickers from the "Daily Show" set, but the palpable solidarity the two men share will be one of the most defining legacies of the Iraq war.

In his final visit to Washington as Britain's prime minister, Blair gave a joint press conference with Bush in the Rose Garden following private briefings on Iraq. Blair will step down after 10 years in office next month, and he leaves under heavy criticism back home. More specifically, he leaves under the widespread British taunt that he'd become Bush's "poodle," following the American leader blindly into a war that seems to many unwinnable.

But both men disputed that characterization today, and Bush quickly lost patience with some particularly pointed questions from members of the British press.

"You're tap dancing on his political grave, aren't you?" Bush retorted, after a reporter repeated earlier questions about whether Washington should even be speaking with Blair considering his departure date and the coronation of his successor, Gordon Brown, by the British press.

"He happens to be your prime minister," Bush pointedly told the reporter. "And more importantly, he is a respected man in the international community. People admire him, even if they don't agree with him 100 percent. He's effective."

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Posted at 2:15 PM
Posted to: Bush Administration, Europe, Iraq, Middle East, President Bush, Tony Blair, U.K.
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May 10, 2007

Bye-Bye, Blair

British Prime Minister Tony Blair will leave office June 27, leaving President Bush bereft of his most steadfast foreign ally. His resignation announcement today may have offered a preview of what Americans will be in for when Bush's departure in early 2009 nears.

Blair cast his lot with Bush following 9/11 and the decision to go to war with Iraq. It was the biggest gamble of the Labour Party leader's career, and, perhaps, his costliest. Blair's sinking approval ratings have dovetailed with Bush's.

And yet, as Blair noted in his farewell speech, it could have been otherwise.

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Posted at 3:15 PM
Posted to: Europe, Iraq, President Bush, Tony Blair, U.K.
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April 12, 2007

Tony Blair Touches Off Imus-Like Flap

British Prime Minister Tony Blair has come under fire for advising community leaders to do away with "political correctness" and acknowledge that London's rising gang violence mostly involves young blacks.

"When are we going to start saying this is a problem amongst a section of the black community and not, for reasons of political correctness, pretend that this is nothing to do with it?" Blair said, in an address delivered yesterday to the Cardiff Chamber of Commerce. "The black community -- the vast majority of whom in these communities are decent, law-abiding people horrified at what is happening -- need to be mobilised in denunciation of this gang culture that is killing innocent young black kids. But we won't stop this by pretending it isn't young black kids doing it."

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Posted at 12:47 PM
Posted to: Europe, Race, Tony Blair, U.K.
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April 05, 2007

U.K. Sailors Back Home; Bomb Suspects Charged

With Congress in recess and President Bush clearing brush in Crawford, it's very quiet today in Washington. Not so for America's allies across the pond.

First, the latest news: Police have charged three more suspects in the 2005 London transit bombings that killed 52 and injured nearly a thousand, the London Guardian reports. "Sadeer Saleem, 26, Mohammed Shakil, 30, and Waheed Ali, 23," are accused of conspiring with the suicide bombers who carried out the rush-hour attacks on three crowded subways and one double-decker bus on July 7, 2005.

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Posted at 12:55 PM
Posted to: Europe, Iran, Terrorism, Tony Blair, U.K.
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