USA/UK: British Prime Minister Tony Blair gives testimony to Iraq Study Group

Via a videolink British Prime Minister Tony Blair gave testimony to members of the Iraq study group who were at the White House on Tuesday (November 14) to speak about various views on how to change course in Iraq. Blair's office gave no immediate word on what he had told the Iraq Study Group, but he was expected to promote his view that engaging Iran and Syria is also vital to advancing the Middle East peace process. Members of the Iraq Study Group, Former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and Lawrence Eagleburger who served as Secretary of State during President George H.W. Bush's administration could be seen arriving at the White House ahead of the meeting. Bush's Republicans have been forced into a rethink of their policy in Iraq after suffering a severe setback in last week's mid-term elections. Democrats seized both houses of Congress, largely because of voter anger over the war. Blair, Bush's closest ally, hopes the political changes in the United States will give him a more receptive audience. Foreign policy experts say that Blair's initiative is more likely to bear fruit with Syria than with Iran, which is likely to make approval of its nuclear programme a precondition for it taking a role in Iraq. Recent changes in Bush's advisers may make it easier for Blair to get his message heard by the Americans, experts said. James Baker, head of the Iraq Study Group, and Robert Gates, new defense secretary, were both in the government of Bush's father, which had good relations with Syria, said Chris Brown, international relations professor at the London School of Economics.

ITN Source | November 15, 2006

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