Believe In America.com

butterbean · Joined: 21 Jun 2006 Posts: 2271

The first cracks in the united front over Iraq between Tony Blair and President Bush appeared last night as the Prime Minister offered Iran and Syria the prospect of dialogue over the future of Iraq and the Middle East.

Mr Blair said there could be a new “partnership” with Iran if it stopped supporting terrorism in Iraq and gave up its nuclear ambitions. Syria and Iran could choose partnership or isolation, he said.

The Prime Minister tried to exploit moves in Washington to rethink strategy on Iraq by holding out the prospect of engagement with two countries once dubbed by President Bush as part of the “axis of evil”. For the first time he also explicitly ruled out military action against Iran.

And, in words clearly directed at Mr Bush as he prepares for his final two years in power, Mr Blair called for the United States to lead a new drive towards peace in the Middle East, including peace in Palestine and the Lebanon, arguing that ultimately it was the only way to defeat al-Qaeda.
Downing Street denied suggestions that Mr Blair was going “cap in hand” to Damascus and Tehran asking for help and insisted that they were being told that they had to make a “strategic choice” between giving up support for terrorism and nuclear ambitions in return for being brought in from the cold.

It added that Mr Blair was repeating the message that he first gave in a speech in Los Angeles in July.

But, with Mr Blair speaking tomorrow to the Iraq Study Group, which is looking at alternative solutions for Iraq including involving its neighbours, his speech to the Lord Mayor’s banquet at Guildhall this evening was different in tone and suggested that he wants to capitalise on the new mood in Washington. Mr Bush has been opposed to talk with Iran.

Mr Blair said that Iran’s “genuine fear” that America sought a military solution was “entirely misplaced."

continued:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-2452648,00.html

Mad

They've all gone MAD!