DON'T GO WOBBLY ON US, TONY :

Bush rejects Blair call for Middle East deal before Iraq attack (Colin Brown, Sean Rayment and Charles Laurence, 04/08/2002, Daily Telegraph)

A damaging rift has opened up between London and Washington over demands by Tony Blair that the Bush administration revive Middle East peace talks before any attack on Iraq.

The Telegraph has learned that the Prime Minister is privately urging President Bush to call Arab-Israeli peace talks before any military action against Iraq, but the White House is resisting.

"The Washington argument is: You can deal with Iraq in a separate box. That is not the London position," said a senior Whitehall figure. [...]

"We want the Americans to say they are going to fix it in the Middle East. They are capable of doing it, even with [Israeli prime minister Ariel] Sharon, but they are not doing so."

Here's an idea, let's leave our national security in Yassir Arafat's hands and let him determine when we can attack Iraq.
Posted by Orrin Judd at August 4, 2002 6:00 AM