Environmentalists Against War

Blair ‘Feels Betrayed by Bush’; Agrees that Bush’s Mideast Policy Is ‘Crap’

August 23rd, 2006 - by admin

The Daily Mail & The Guardian – 2006-08-23 00:32:53

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=401414&in_page_id=1770

Blair ‘Feels Betrayed by Bush on Lebanon’
Simon Walters / The Daily Mail

LONDON (August 19, 2006) — The alliance between George Bush and Tony Blair is in danger after it was revealed that the Prime Minister believes the President has ‘let him down badly’ over the Middle East crisis.

A senior Downing Street source said that, privately, Mr Blair broadly agrees with John Prescott, who said Mr Bush’s record on the issue was ‘crap’.

The source said: “We all feel badly let down by Bush. We thought we had persuaded him to take the Israel-Palestine situation seriously, but we were wrong. How can anyone have faith in a man of such low intellect?”

The disclosure comes ahead of a mini recall of Parliament to allow MPs to vent their fury over Mr Blair’s handling of Israel’s war with Hezbollah and whether the recent terror plot in Britain was affected by his role in the Iraq war.

Foreign Affairs Minister Kim Howells, who has criticised Israeli attacks on women and children, is to be summoned before an emergency meeting next month of the Labour-dominated Commons foreign affairs select committee.

The highly unusual move to allow a Parliament evidence session during the summer recess mirrors emergency meetings called after the July 7 bombings in London.

The rift between No10 and the White House stems from British anger that Mr Bush failed to do enough to pursue the ‘road map’ to peace between the Israelis and Palestinians, which he approved, at Mr Blair’s instigation, on the eve of the Iraq war.

“We have been banging on at them for three years about the need to address the Palestinian problem but they just won’t engage,” said a senior Government insider. “That is one of the reasons there is such a mess now.”

It is understood Mr Blair hopes to undertake a highly controversial one-man mission to the Middle East when he returns from his holiday, including a trip to war-torn Lebanon.

Until now, the Prime Minister has given Mr Bush 100 percent backing on all foreign policy issues since the Iraq war in 2003. But Mr Blair’s refusal to distance himself publicly from the White House’s all-out support for Israel’s attacks on Hezbollah guerillas in Lebanon has enraged Labour MPs and several Ministers.

However, a Downing Street official said: “We believe our best approach is to use our influence with the American government to persuade them of the importance of making progress to achieve peace in the Middle East.”

Mr Blair’s advisers say his portrayal by critics as Mr Bush’s ‘poodle’ is a travesty and claim he gets results by hammering out their differences in private.

But they do not deny that, behind the facade of public support, Downing Street’s patience with Mr Bush has never been stretched so far.

The decision by the foreign affairs committee to stage its emergency debate on September 13 — after Mr Blair opposed calls for a full recall of Parliament — is a further reflection of backbench unrest.

MPs have been demanding that the Government explains its stance on the crisis, which saw Mr Blair back Israel’s use of force against Hezbollah militants in Lebanon which has left hundreds of civilians dead and thousands homeless.

Mr Howells will be questioned over the Government’s handling of the crisis, which has seen the Cabinet deeply divided over Israel’s actions. He will also be asked to update MPs on the latest UN peacekeeping efforts which will see thousands of international troops deployed into a buffer zone on the Israel-Lebanon border.

Labour committee member Eric Illsley confirmed that the committee would take evidence from Mr Howells on September 13. He said: “There has been a public clamour for a full recall of Parliament.”

Meanwhile John Prescott has been involved in another foul-mouthed incident over Tony Blair’s policy on the Middle East, it was claimed last night.

He is said to have had a heated exchange with Lord Chancellor Lord Falconer, one of the few Cabinet Ministers to defend Mr Blair’s stance on Israel’s war with Hezbollah, when the conflict was raised during a Cabinet meeting and Lord Falconer denied that Ministers had disagreed on the issue.

Mr Prescott, one of the Ministers who led the revolt, allegedly snapped at Lord Falconer: “Of course they f****** did, you were f****** there.”

Reader Comments:

• If he looks like a poodle acts like poodle and comes to heel like a poodle, he is a poodle.
— Rick , Manchester, England

• We, in the USA, have also been betrayed by bush and his neocons. This man has done more than anyone in our history to ruin our country. Pray that we rid ourselves of Bush’s minions in November.
— Sue Larkin, Springfield, MO, USA

• Maybe at last the penny has dropped. Could it be that Blair has finally figured out that Dubya has taken him for a prize plonker. The time has come for Blair to resign.
— Jeff, Ontario, Canada

• What a coincidence! We all feel betrayed by Blair!
— John, Manchester, England

• Perhaps Blair will now realise that this is how the whole country feels about him, after the damage he has done to us!
— Stratford, Hants

• Bliar is trying to jump a sinking ship, somebody tie him to it.
— V, London

Bush Is Crap, Says Prescott
Deputy PM Criticises US Handling of Middle East;
Condemns ‘Cowboy’ President at Private Meeting
Colin Brown, Deputy Political Editor

LONDON (August 17, 2006) — John Prescott has given vent to his private feelings about the Bush presidency, summing up George Bush’s administration in a single word: crap.

The Deputy Prime Minister’s condemnation of President Bush and his approach to the Middle East could cause a diplomatic row but it will please Labour MPs who are furious about Tony Blair’s backing of the United States over the bombing of Lebanon.

The remark is said to have been made at a private meeting in Mr Prescott’s Whitehall office on Tuesday with Muslim MPs and other Labour MPs with constituencies representing large Muslim communities. Muslim MPs wanted to press home their objections to British foreign policy and discuss ways of improving relations with the Muslim communities.

Some of the MPs present said yesterday they could not remember Mr Prescott making the remark. He has been at pains to avoid breaking ranks with Mr Blair in public although he is believed to have raised concern about the bombing of Lebanon at a private meeting of the Cabinet. But Harry Cohen, the MP whose constituency includes Walthamstow, scene of some of the police raids in the alleged “terror plot” investigation, said Mr Prescott had definitely used the word “crap” about the Bush administration.

“He was talking in the context of the ‘road map’ in the Middle East. He said he only gave support to the war on Iraq because they were promised the road map. But he said the Bush administration had been crap on that. We all laughed and he said to an official, ‘Don’t minute that’.” Mr Cohen added: “We also had a laugh when he said old Bush is just a cowboy with his Stetson on. But then he said, ‘I can hardly talk about that can I?’

Told that others at the meeting could not recall the words, Mr Cohen said: ” He did. I stand by that.”

The Deputy Prime Minister’s office said last night that the meeting was private and would not confirm or deny his use of the word “crap”. ” These discussions are intended to be private and remain within the four walls,” said one official. “They are private so that there may be frank discussions.”

Many Labour MPs have been infuriated by the spectacle of Mr Bush and Mr Blair jointly supporting the Israeli action. The Labour MPs went to see Mr Prescott to lodge their criticism of the Government’s foreign policy and some said last night that they would be delighted if he did break ranks over the Bush administration following the outcry at the bombing of the Lebanon.

In the private discussions with Mr Prescott, the Labour MPs representing large Muslim communities pulled no punches in their criticism of Mr Blair for giving his backing to Mr Bush. Another of those who was contacted about the conversations did not deny Mr Prescott’s words, but laughed and said: ” I can’t discuss that.” When asked whether he had heard Mr Prescott use the “C-word”, he said: “I don’t remember that.”

The Deputy Prime Minister is said to have made it clear he strongly backed the efforts by Mr Blair to persuade the Bush administration to revive the road map for Palestine and Israel. Mr Blair has given a commitment that he will give the peace process his priority when he returns from his holiday in the Caribbean.

“There was a very robust exchange of views,” said the MP. ” We had a row about community relations. The Deputy Prime Minister was told in no uncertain terms that the Government was relying too much on the elders in the Muslim community who didn’t have the credibility that was needed.”

Muslim Labour MPs also told Mr Prescott that they needed to retain their own credibility in their communities, which was one of the reasons why they had signed a controversial letter calling for a change in British foreign policy. They said it was not helpful for the Government to have attacked their letter.

Mr Prescott has been accused in the past of making his feelings known about the Republican administration in the White House. He became friendly with Al Gore, the unsuccessful Democrat presidential candidate in 2000, during the negotiations on the Kyoto treaty and allegedly told Mr Gore after his defeat that he was sorry he lost the race to Mr Bush.

Mr Prescott is also known to have used the word “crap” in relation to political events before. Earlier this month, he angrily rejected claims that he could resign over the row about his links to the bid by the tycoon Philip Anschutz for a super-casino at the Millennium Dome as “a load of crap”.

Mr Prescott was left in charge by Mr Blair when the Prime Minister went on his delayed holiday but has largely taken a back seat while John Reid, the Home Secretary, has led for the Government on security and the alleged terror plot to blow up planes across the Atlantic.

Behind the scenes, Mr Prescott had to contend with growing backbench demands for Parliament to be recalled to debate the crisis in the Middle East. It remains an option, in spite of the ceasefire in the Lebanon. Campaigners claimed they had the signatures of more than 150 MPs from all parties for a recall.

Significantly, they included Ann Keen, the parliamentary private secretary to Gordon Brown, the Chancellor, who is on paternity leave following the birth of his second child. Jim Sheridan, the Labour MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire North, resigned as the parliamentary private secretary to the defence ministers over the bombing of Lebanon.

Mr Prescott has been keen to show Labour MPs that he is prepared to listen to their grievances but has insisted on party discipline to avoid splits. He will be furious at his alleged remarks being repeated, but the signs of dissent within the Cabinet are becoming greater.

Straight-talker’s Way with Words
• Posing with a crab in a jar at the Millennium Dome, while Peter Mandelson was standing for election to Labour’s ruling national executive committee, he said to cameramen: “You know what his name is? He’s called Peter. Do you think you will get on the executive, Peter?”

• When asked why a car was transporting him and his wife 200 yards to the Labour Party Conference in 1999:

“Because of the security reasons for one thing and second, my wife doesn’t like to have her hair blown about. Have you got another silly question?”

• On the Millennium Dome: “If we can’t make this work, we’re not much of a government.”

• “The green belt is a Labour achievement, and we mean to build on it.” (Radio interview, January 1998)

• On the Tories at the 1996 Labour conference: “They are up to their necks in sleaze. The best slogan for their conference next week is ” Life’s better under the Tories” – sounds like one of Steven Norris’s chat-up lines.”

• When asked by a journalist about Peter Law’s decision to quit the Labour Party after 35 years: “Why are you asking me about this? I don’t care, it’s a Welsh situation, I’m a national politician.”

John Prescott has given vent to his private feelings about the Bush presidency, summing up George Bush’s administration in a single word: crap.

But Harry Cohen, the MP whose constituency includes Walthamstow, scene of some of the police raids in the alleged “terror plot” investigation, said Mr Prescott had definitely used the word “crap” about the Bush administration.

Told that others at the meeting could not recall the words, Mr Cohen said: ” He did. I stand by that.”

Labour MPs rally to Prescott’s defence over criticism of Bush
Will Woodward / Guardian

(August 18, 2006) — Labour backbenchers defended John Prescott yesterday as the deputy prime minister found himself at the centre of more political turmoil after it emerged he had described George Bush’s handling of the Middle East peace process as “crap”.

Leading the support was Harry Cohen, MP for Leyton and Wanstead, who had embarrassed Mr Prescott by revealing the remarks, made in a private meeting on Tuesday.

Mr Cohen reported that Mr Prescott had described the Bush administration as “crap” in its handling of the “road map” negotiations to reach a settlement between the Palestinians and Israelis, and referred to the US president as “a cowboy with his stetson on”.

In a statement, Mr Prescott described the story as “an inaccurate report of a private conversation and it is not my view” – a formulation short of outright denial. Two other MPs at the meeting confirmed the substance of the remarks.

Downing Street brushed off the comments and the White House press secretary, Tony Snow, said Mr Bush had “been called a lot worse”. He added: “There will be piquant names, sort of, hurled his way from time to time, but, you know, that’s part of the burden of leadership.”

Mr Cohen told the Guardian yesterday: “He wasn’t saying Bush was crap or the Bush administration is crap, or that Bush in the Middle East is crap. He was saying that Bush and taking the road map forward is crap.

“He was defending government policy and he was putting an historical perspective on it. He was saying he backed the war in Iraq because the road map was on the table and there was the chance to get a solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict. And he was lamenting the fact that there hadn’t been progress on that.”

The 100-minute meeting, held in Mr Prescott’s office, was with six Labour MPs: four Muslim MPs and Mr Cohen and Neil Gerrard, MP for Walthamstow, who represent constituencies where several of the 24 arrests were made last week.

“I’m full of praise for John Prescott. There’s all this talk of him not being involved. I think the meeting showed that he was on the ball,” Mr Cohen said.

“He was being frank … He might not have liked the language coming out in this way but the point he was making was a serious one.”

The view Mr Prescott expressed was held by a lot of the parliamentary Labour party “and I suspect at high levels of government as well”. Another of those present described it as a “throwaway remark”. Most of the meeting was taken up talking about how to stabilise and improve relations with the Muslim population.

Earlier this year Mr Prescott told former US vice-president Al Gore he wished he and not Mr Bush had become president. And he has criticised Mr Bush for failing to sign the Kyoto protocol on climate change.

David Winnick, Labour MP for Walsall North, said: “If it was a private meeting it should have stayed private. However, if there are any Labour MPs who have never thought critically of US foreign policy in the Middle East – and particularly the lack of movement towards trying to bring about an Israeli-Palestinian agreement – then I would be utterly surprised.”

But one senior backbencher suggested the story would reinforce the belief that Mr Prescott was a busted flush. “It does the government no good to speak with discordant voices and if Labour becomes anti-American it plays into Tory hands.”

The Conservatives chose not to comment. But Norman Lamb, for the Liberal Democrats, said: “John Prescott does not always use the most appropriate language, but if these reports are to be believed then his instincts on the Middle East are certainly preferable to Tony Blair’s. By attaching himself so closely to President Bush, Tony Blair is undermining Britain’s ability to act as a force for peace.”

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