Friday 29th of March 2024

"aussie tony" & the value of political credibility ......

‘British Prime Minister Tony Blair made an open plea on Monday to United States President George Bush to recognise that a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict lies at the core of any hopes for wider peace in the Middle East, including Iraq.

In his annual foreign policy speech, seen as a chance to recalibrate Britain's Iraq strategy, Blair said a solution to the conflict was central to a strategy that "pins back the forces trying to create mayhem inside Iraq".

He also urged Syria, and to a lesser extent Iran, to choose whether they wished to join the dialogue and become partners in a wider Middle East peace.

Blair, famously cautious about pressing the Republican administration in public, is trying to seize the rare indecision in Washington in response to the Democrat victories to persuade the White House to acknowledge the central importance of the Palestinian peace process.’

Blair's Plea To US On Middle East

Mama trouble...

As often mentioned on this site, although not expressed in these specific words, it would have been preferable for the UK to promote and take a unified European approach not to attack Iraq under false pretences. Mr Blair is in a pickle but cannot get out of it because he's trying to protect while warning his less-than-intellectual mate in the US, a mate who does not understand anything much, not even his own stupidity... Sorry, I know, it's obvious one cannot understand much from a position of under-IQ-ued resources... Is that a slur on the US president?.. Possibly, but I do not have to expose it... He's done it himself, showing to the world that he has limited understanding of the NEXT and of CAUSE AND EFFECT. If his idea to solve a problem is to blast the shit out of it, then you know what I mean.

Now, those who know the complexity of human nature, evolved and twisted from naked apes, know that something needs to be done properly or we'll soon be in BIG TROUBLE...

Confusion in the media?

From the New York Times (16/11/06)

General Says [http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/15/world/middleeast/16policycnd.html?hp&ex=1163653200&en=90414df32fbc5971&ei=5094&partner=homepage|More Troops] May Be Needed in Iraq

By DAVID STOUT
Published: November 15, 2006
WASHINGTON, Nov. 15 — The top American military commander in the Middle East raised the possibility today that more United States troops might be needed in Iraq, at least temporarily, to help that country’s security forces and prevent the turbulent nation from tearing itself apart.


From our ABC (16/11/06)

[http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200611/s1789691.htm|No more troops] needed in Iraq: US commander
The top United States commander in the Middle East does not think more American troops are needed in Iraq.
A week after US voters had expressed their displeasure with the Iraq war at the ballot box, the US Commander in the Middle East General John Abizaid says he does not think American troops should withdraw.

More confusion or front pedalling?

US plans last big push in Iraq

Strategy document calls for [http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,,1948748,00.html|extra 20,000 troops], aid for Iraqi army and regional summit

Simon Tisdall
Thursday November 16, 2006
The Guardian

President George Bush has told senior advisers that the US and its allies must make "a last big push" to win the war in Iraq and that instead of beginning a troop withdrawal next year, he may increase US forces by up to 20,000 soldiers, according to sources familiar with the administration's internal deliberations.
Mr Bush's refusal to give ground, coming in the teeth of growing calls in the US and Britain for a radical rethink or a swift exit, is having a decisive impact on the policy review being conducted by the Iraq Study Group chaired by Bush family loyalist James Baker, the sources said.

and from the nearby ward for the demented & deluded .....

‘Prime Minister Ehud Olmert drew fire from Democratic Party members Monday by publicly praising the war in Iraq.

Speaking after his talks with U.S. President George W. Bush at the White House, Olmert said the American operation in Iraq brought stability to the Middle East.

Politicians from the Democratic Party said they wanted to speak to Olmert about his comments on Iraq before responding publicly, but expressed disapproval over the remarks.’

Fury in US Over Olmert's Comments On Iraq War