British Prime Minister Tony Blair will visit President Bush this week, giving the two allied leaders a chance to compare notes and plot strategy in the war with Iraq. Blair will arrive Wednesday and the two leaders will go to Bush's presidential retreat at Camp David to continue their talks Thursday, a diplomatic source told The Associated Press.
| By then they'll see how the fight with the RG is shaping up and that'll give them an idea of how much is left to do... |
Blair, at some considerable political risk, has stood firmly with the United States on using force to disarm Iraq. Of late, though, his popularity appears to be rising. Bush and the prime minister joined against a strong anti-war bloc, led by France and including Russia and Germany. The rift has created strains in the United Nations and the NATO alliance, a topic likely to be on the two leaders' agenda along with the war to unseat Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. Postwar Iraq is another likely topic. Blair favors a strong U.N. role in authorizing a post-Saddam authority in Baghdad. But France and Russia appear determined to block the move, as they did a U.S.-British-Spanish resolution designed to support use of force against Iraq.
Oh well. We tried. Guess we'll have to do it on our own. Their loss.
Reconstruction of Iraq is already under discussion, with the United States likely to foot most of the bill, although contributions from others will be sought. |