Tony Blair

Queen Elizabeth II is currently engaging in the most low-key state visit imaginable; Her host is one George Bush in the city of Washington.

There are many ironies here. The Queen's own Prime Minister, Tony Blair, is set to depart from office on May 9th; and if the American people had any say in the matter, Her host would likely leave office before that date. Unfortunately, we do not have that option; and so, there's a spectacle in our White House, wherein the arguably most admired world leader has dinner with the most despised.

Bush and his wife, Laura, were waiting on the driveway on a near-perfect spring day as the queen and her husband, Prince Philip, arrived by limousine. The two couples briefly shook hands before moving on to the formal welcome.

A brilliantly blue sky framed the colorful ceremony where red, white and blue bunting was draped over the fencelines on the South Lawn. The United States Air Force Band led a grand military procession onto the lawn.

The Queen is known for Her absolutely impeccable manners; Her Husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, less so. I find myself wondering if the old man will mention to his host that the Duke has a grandson currently on his way to George Bush's war in Iraq. That's the unspoken subtext of this visit. George and Laura Bush, of course, can make no similar claim. The Duke might also mention that he actually served in the Royal Navy, and that his sons did as well; draft-dodging is frowned upon in the House of Windsor. Keep an eye on the Duke; he's worth watching on this occasion.

The man who went from great to merely a lap dog of George Bush's, will say goodbye on May 9th. British Prime Minister Tony Blair's departure announcement was met with little interest even on BBC news' front page, or even on Daily Kos where merely brief mention is made of it.

Tony Blair, a man who could have been great, is slinking away with his tail between his legs under suspicion of a Tom DeLay/Abramoff style favors-for-donations (or should that be "favours"-for-quids) scandal.

from the Sunday Mail:

The inquiry began after it emerged that secret loans had been made to Labour before the 2005 general election. Some lenders were subsequently nominated for peerages...

Blair's chief fundraiser Lord Levy, No.10 aide Ruth Turner and multimillionaire businessman Sir Christopher Evans remain on police bail.

So here in the US you get a no-bid contract instead of a title, but otherwise it sure looks like Republican-style corruption. May Bush have the same fate as his lap dog...

In sharp contrast to the Republican claims that all is well in Iraq, Tony Blair recently admitted that Iraq is a "disaster."

This comes via Truthout.

Tony Blair admitted that British intervention in Iraq has been a disaster last night - sending shockwaves through Westminster.

In his frankest admission about the war to date, Mr. Blair admitted that Western forces have been powerless to stop the descent into violence.

The Prime Minister stopped short of accepting the blame for plunging Iraq to the brink of civil war - blaming instead the insurgent uprising that has killed 125 British troops.

But his admission in an interview with the Arab news channel Al Jazeera will be seen as an historic climbdown for Mr. Blair, who has always fought to put a positive gloss on often disastrous events.

Challenged by veteran interviewer Sir David Frost that the Western invasion of Iraq has "so far been pretty much of a disaster", Mr. Blair said: "It has."

...

Sir Richard Dannatt, the Chief of the General Staff, told the Daily Mail that Mr. Blair's desire to forge a "liberal democracy" in Iraq was a "naive" failure and commented: "Whatever consent we may have had in the first place" from the Iraqi people "has largely turned to intolerance."

and lest we forget what Blair means when he admits the Bush/Blair Iraq policy has been a disaster, here is a reminder from the same article:

Cowboy diplomacy

Some points about these comments :

1. Bush does not know the correct use of the term 'ironic'.

2. He talks about Condoleeza Rice as if she knows exactly what do : You don't know if he talks about her as an expert in diplomacy or the woman that cleans after he's done crapping all over the world.

3. Bush believes the fighting will be over if Syria tells Hezbollah to stop picking fights with Israel?!?!?

4. Tony Blair is actually trying to have a dicussion about policy and diplomacy with Bush?

Oy.