Blair consulted with the Big Dog throughout the period leading up to the war... _____________ Blair's secret war meetings with Clinton Patrick Wintour, chief political correspondent Friday April 25, 2003 The Guardian Tony Blair took repeated secret advice from the former American president Bill Clinton on how to unlock the diplomatic impasse between Europe and the US in the build-up to the war on Iraq, the Guardian can reveal. In the crucial weekend before to the final breakdown of diplomacy in March, Mr Clinton was a guest of Mr Blair's at Chequers where the pair discussed the crisis. Mr Blair was battling to persuade the Chilean president Ricardo Lagos - a key figure on the security council - to back a second UN resolution setting a new deadline for Saddam to cooperate fully with the UN or face military action. Three days after his Chequers meeting, Mr Clinton made a rare public appeal to his successor, George Bush, to give the UN weapons inspectors more time. Mr Blair and Mr Clinton met at least three times to discuss the war, underlining the extent to which Mr Blair rates Mr Clinton's analytical powers, despite the bond of trust he has also formed with the Republican White House. The two men met on the weekend of March 8, the weekend during which Clare Short, the international development secretary, exploded a grenade by accusing the prime minister of running a reckless policy towards Iraq. In a speech in Washington three days later Mr Clinton said the UN's chief weapons inspector, Hans Blix, should set the timetable for compliance, adding: "I hope the United States would agree to that amount of time, whatever it is." Mr Clinton was careful to say that Mr Bush was sincere in his pursuit of UN support, but added: "The question is, do they want the support bad enough to let Mr Blix finish his work and give enough time to do that?" At that point, Mr Blair had been pressing the US in private to extend a deadline by which Saddam would have to shown to be cooperating with the UN. Mr Blair and Mr Clinton had a warm, mutually supportive relationship during the latter's presidency. After the election of Mr Bush, Downing Street aides were anxious to maintain the "special relationship" between the US and the UK. Private polling for No 10 during the build-up to war showed hostility towards Mr Bush among British voters and Labour MPs, who disliked his language and manner. At the time of Mr Clinton's private visit to Chequers, Mr Blair was very close to winning the agreement of the Chileans to British proposals. The prime minister was so desperate to secure Chilean support that he told Mr Lagos that he was prepared to make the 7,230-mile journey to Santiago to clinch the support of the first centre-left leader of Chile since Salvador Allende. In practice, Mr Blair would not have made the 35-hour round trip unless he could be sure that he would not be returning empty-handed and humiliated. The foreign secretary, Jack Straw, had also expressed a willingness to travel to Chile, hoping that his earlier decision to arrest General Augusto Pinochet had given him some personal influence in the former dictator's country. British efforts to secure a deal were scuppered when the French president, Jacques Chirac, gave a television interview saying he would veto a resolution authorising war whatever the circumstances. Mr Blair followed up the interview with a private call to Mr Chirac, in which the French president said he would not tolerate any resolution that contained an ultimatum to Saddam. Commenting on Mr Chirac's television performance, the defence secretary, Geoff Hoon, told the Guardian: "He blew it. If he had said 'let's look at it again in two months time', we would have been in much greater difficulty."
I read this earlier on Drudgereport...really interesting. Particularly considering the outcome of Blair's position.
Clinton has got to be one of the biggest a holes alive. He has no right consulting with a foreign government while we are at war. I don't care who initiated the contact, not do I care that Clinton discussed policy with an ally. He is quickly becoming the most intrusive and selfish ex-president in recent history.
I heard that Clinton tried to talk to Bush II first, but realized our current President wouldn't listen after hearing that Bush II would only read the condensed Condoleeza Notes of Bush I's memo.
Sam, are you comfortable with an ex-president holding secret meetings with a foreign head of state while our country is at war? I am sure that you understand the longstanding U.S. tradition that ex-presidents should lay low for the first several years after they leave office. Why do you think that tradition exists?
Yes, I suppose your reaction to this has nothing to do with your, what is it, let me guess, 11 straight years of knee-jerk Clinton bashing?
he asked you a substantive question...he didn't attack you...answer the question...does it bother you that an ex-president so quickly immerses himself in world affairs..partcularly to this extent?
Weren't we repeatedy told, when several ex-Presidents criticized the current administration's handling of the Iraq situation, thet they were now merely private citizens whose opinions should, and I think I'm quoting directly here, have no more weight than yours or mine?
everyone's entitled to their opinions...that's a little different from clinton counseling blair and lobbying the current administration and the UN
Hmm, the war happened and Blair probably asked Clinton for consultation, sounds like everything is fine to me. It's not like Clinton is some puppetmaster, this is like Bush I giving advice to his son. I bet johnheath got bent out of shape when Clinton was consoling New Yorkers in the street right after 9-11.
No. It didn't bother me that Tony Blair apparently felt that his relationship with Clinton was such that he could consult him for advice with regard to matters of diplomacy and persuasion. And it doesn't bother me that such consultations were done in private. Would you rather they be public? But if you're a right wing hack with an agenda, you can characterize it as a bunch of "secret meetings" to paint the antichrist, slick willie, as being a traitor. Grist for the clinton hate-mill, still in business all these years.
Yes, he should behave as a respectable ex- politician and lobby Congress on behalf of tobacco or trial lawyers instead.
John Quincy Adams shouldn't have spoken out against slavery according to that logic. I know, that was low, that wasn't what you meant, but anyway, the point is that not-all ex-presidents (particlulary the young ones) retire after leaving office.
Blair had a good relationship with Clinton. No matter what people want to say about all of Clinton's failings(and he has quite a few) the guy was smart, and knew what he was talking about. He was deeply involved in almost every aspect of decision making. Blair wanted to talk to someone. Clinton could have done this in public, and it would have looked like he was trying to upstage the president. Instead Clinton acted with discretion(for once). I see no problem at all with what happened.
What was the purpose of this thread anyways? This was pretty well known if you read the British news. edit I mean, are we supposed to think it's bad that Blair asked his friend for help or good that Clinton talked to him?
