Blair's Influence on Bush
| 11:26 UK time, Tuesday, 19 December 2006
Victor Bulmer-Thomas, outgoing director of Chatham House, otherwise known as the Royal Institute of International Affairs, says Tony Blair has weakened Britain's influence in the world by backing George Bush's Middle East policy.
He's also helped made the Middle East region more dangerous, according to this .
Saad Jawad, professor of political science in Baghdad, thinks that's right, and goes further: if Mr. Blair had not decided to back the US in the invasion of Iraq, that might have preserved British influence enough to change that policy when it began to look like a failure by the end of 2003.
From Iraqis, he said, Bush and Blair get the blame jointly.
Ann Clwyd, Tony Blair's human rights envoy, told us there were many instances where Britain's influence had affected US policy - but she couldn't tell us because it was confidential.
Your comments, here please.
