Blair faces leadership revolt as abuse crisis deepens

[Spazito]

Tony Blair was struggling to avoid a collapse of confidence in his leadership last night as Labour MPs denounced his alliance with President George W Bush and the chaotic handling of allegations of abuse against Iraqi prisoners.

Labour backbenchers said contradictory statements from ministers and signs of a lack of grip at the highest levels of Government during a time of crisis had sent morale lower than at any point since the conflict began.

The sense that Mr Blair was becoming dangerously isolated was reinforced when Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary, used far stronger language than the Prime Minister to condemn the way US soldiers had abused Iraqi detainees.

snip

The impression of disarray within Government was increased when Downing Street, the Foreign Office and the MoD became mired in controversy over whether Britain's envoy to the Coalition Provisional Authority in Baghdad at the time, Sir Jeremy Greenstock, had even read the Red Cross document alleging abuse of prisoners.

more

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/05/12/nirq12.xml

[Jacobin]

1. I wonder how much longer British troops will be in IraqNam?

I give it six months.

[young_at_heart]

2. I have never understood the politics of 'Tony and George'

Tony is a smart man and for him to follow so blindly must have been surprising to many people!

[Eye and Monkey]

3. Again, we hear "the boss didn't know anything about it."

From the cited article -

As complaints about British forces were already being dealt with, officials decided not to tell Mr Blair about the more damaging allegations about US troops.

Downing Street refused to state whether Mr Blair knew about the allegations of mistreatment by US forces before they were disclosed on both sides of the Atlantic.

However, officials appeared anxious to protect Mr Blair from any suggestion that he might have turned a blind eye to accusations of abuse by US forces because he is already facing mounting criticism in the Labour Party for being too close to President Bush.

[Spazito]

4. Kick for the morning crowd

:kick:

[young_at_heart]

5. If Sir Jeremy didn't read it, who did?

The spin doctors are now shifting the blame for the abuse onto the media (CBS) for airing the photos. Sir Jeremy and his US counterparts are innocent.