Blair has Failed to Influence U.S.: Report
By REUTERS
Published: December 19, 2006
LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Tony Blair's foreign policy has failed because of his inability to influence Washington and his successor must carve out a leading role for Britain within Europe instead, a report said on Tuesday.
The Chatham House think-tank said in a wide-ranging analysis of Blair's foreign policy that he was the first to recognize how the United States would react to the September 11 attacks, but made a huge mistake in backing its war on Iraq.
The influential London-based institute said the prime minister had erred in failing to coordinate a European response that might have tempered Washington's actions.
Chatham House concluded that the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq was a "terrible mistake'' leading to a "debacle'' that will have repercussions on policy for years.
"The root failure (of Blair's foreign policy) has been the inability to influence the Bush administration in any significant way despite the sacrifice -- military, political and financial -- that the United Kingdom has made,'' the report said....
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/washington/politics-britain-blair.html