Blair urged to be 'blunt' on Iraq

[T_i_B]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/3631299.stm

UK Prime Minister Tony Blair is being urged to make US President Bush "listen" to growing concerns about American tactics in Iraq.

The two leaders will meet on Friday after Mr Blair said he was seeking a new UN resolution to ensure the handover of power in Iraq on 30 June.

Ex-Foreign Secretary Robin Cook said Mr Blair needed to tell Mr Bush "bluntly" he was pursuing the wrong policies. Mr Cook said Mr Blair would be a "false friend" if he "doesn't fairly bluntly put it to President Bush that he is pursuing policies in Iraq that are going to get us into increasing difficulty there".

The warnings came after Mr Blair met UN Secretary General Kofi Annan in New York on Thursday and insisted there was now a common purpose in the international community over Iraq.