Washington Post Hits Blair Over Iran Split
(cross-posted at firedoglake)
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Huffington Post has a very interesting entry up this morning.
Tony Blair has canceled an upcoming trip to America
to avoid being photographed with Bush. The prime minister was scheduled to
visit the US this spring for meetings with the president, but the trip was
called off after Blair decided that being photographed with Bush would be
too toxic for his image. Huffington
Post
Bush too toxic for Blair? Uh-oh, must be trouble brewing across the pond.
But it doesn't seem shocking, considering Iraq isn't going all that well these
days.
Via Jerome a Paris,
however, comes an interesting piece in The Scotsman that I'd heard about in
the news, but which hadn't been talked about much yet. Jerome makes an interesting
point this morning, which screams from the title: “Paranoia: hit piece
on Blair in WaPo as he refuses war in Iran.” I couldn't agree with him
more.
Here's how it all fits together.
TONY Blair has told George Bush that Britain cannot
offer military support to any strike on Iran, regardless of whether the move
wins the backing of the international community, government sources claimed
yesterday.Amid increasing tension over Tehran's attempts to develop
a military nuclear capacity, the Prime Minister has laid bare the limits of
his support for President Bush, who is believed to be considering an assault
on Iran, Foreign Office sources revealed.
The plot thickens.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is pushing the U.N. Security Council for
sanctions against Iran. Blair will back serious muscular diplomacy, including
pressure and carrot and stick measures, to get the job done. But he's not going
to back military actions this time around, it looks like. The Foreign Policy
Centre (FPC), Blair's “favourite think tank,” according to The Scotsman,
believes that Iran should be treated like Libya, instead of the way Bush and
Blair reacted over Iraq.
This is where a little contradiction comes in. The Scotsman reports that Blair
is willing to support a “Chapter 7″ resolution to compel Iran to comply.
This means that if Iran decides to take the road of non compliance, military
force can be exerted to compel Iran to comply.
“We will support the diplomatic moves, at best,”
a Foreign Office source told Scotland on Sunday. “But we cannot commit
our own resources to a military strike.” (The Scotsman)
The confusion is obviously a walk softly and carry a big fat stick approach, which does tip Blair’s hand that even if a “Chapter 7″ resolution is voted upon, Blair won’t kick in on any military strike.
It is in this context that we now move over to the Washington Post’s hit piece on Tony Blair this morning.
His cozy relationship with Bush, who is extremely unpopular
here, is seen by many as detrimental to British interests. Perhaps as a nod
to that, Blair recently said: “I do not always agree with the U.S. Sometimes
they can be difficult friends to have.”In Islington, some people accuse Blair of abandoning
his working class base, saying he did not fix up public schools as promised.
They say he and his wife, Cherie, a lawyer, have become too interested in
creating a wealthy lifestyle for themselves once Blair leaves office.The Blairs' purchase in 2004 of a $6 million home in
Connaught Square, using a huge mortgage, raised many eyebrows among working-class
Britons. Cherie Blair's frequent speaking engagements around the world, which
often fetch thousands or tens of thousands of dollars, have also drawn sharp
criticism.“People don't like politicians who come out of
politics millionaires,” Hulbert said.
Meow.
The piece goes on and on. Just when Blair decides to distance himself from
Bush, in come the writers and reporters of the “Washington Post Foreign
Service” division to help out their boy. So much is riding on the Post’s
pro war stance that they even feel compelled to come to President Bush’s
aid when he’s being dissed by his buddy over the pond. In for a penny…
It’s so nice for the president to have friends in high places. Especially
when those friends are willing to do a hit piece on your former pal because
he not only won’t play war games anymore, but won’t even stand next
to you for a photo op.
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