As your reading sommelier, may I recommend the whole thing.
She also posts there two interviews the Telegraph ran Easter week. One with Bush & the other with Blair about their relationship and the War on Terror. Think you'll find those interesting, especially this --Bush recalling the no-confidence vote against Blair after they failed to get a second UN resolution against Saddam:
"There was the moment during this period where he had a confidence vote - very dramatic," the President recalled. "Of course, we were watching this very closely. And it was that period of time, during a phone call, when I told Tony, I said, 'Rather than lose your government, withdraw from the coalition' - because I felt it was very important for him to be the Prime Minister at this point in our relationship.
"I saw his clear view and his strength of character. And that's when he told me, 'I'm staying, even if it costs me my government.' And I remember reporting the story back here to my National Security Council, all of whom were as equally as impressed as I was, because I appreciate courage, and I appreciate somebody standing for what he believes. And of course, he went on and won an overwhelming vote."
And Blair's version, asked why he didn't accept Bush's invitation to withdraw from the coalition:
"Look, you either believe in it or you don't. And if you believe in it as strongly as I do and think that it is the right thing for the country, you can't just hide away. What we cannot have is a situation where we say to America, 'We want you to be engaged in the world, but we are not prepared to be there with you. When the going gets tough, you are on your own. You've got the armed forces, you've got the people who are capable of doing this. You go and do it. And we'll speak up for you when it is convenient for us to do so. But we want you to stay engaged as well. We don't want you to pull up the drawbridge and go and look after America.' No, we can't be like that. An alliance is an alliance, and if the alliance is attacked, which is what I believe fundamentally about September 11, then it is the job and the duty of the allies to stick together. And if they don't stick together, then there is a very simple solution for people in America - to say, 'Well, let's look after ourselves.' This idea that when the going gets tough, you just walk away and leave them to get on with it, I just don't like it. And I had made up my mind I was going to come with them. I thought it was the right thing to do.
See, no matter how much I hate his other politics, I'll always be soft on Blair for that.
