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Tony Blair Facing Trouble at Home
Aired July 17, 2003 - 15:10 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: Before Prime Minister Blair left London for the U.S., he took part in his weekly question-and-answer session in Britain's House of Commons. The sessions are known for their lively debates. And with Blair's critics of the Iraq war more emboldened than ever, the latest question time did not disappoint.
Here's CNN's Robin Oakley.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBIN OAKLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It wasn't quite the send-off Britain's prime minister would have wished before a world tour starting in the U.S. British lawmakers used the last question time before their holidays to keep up the pressure on Tony Blair over those missing weapons of mass destruction and the way his government made use of intelligence information.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The prime minister is now in conflict with United Nations arms inspectors, the BBC, and the Central Intelligence Agency. Is it any wonder that people are now beginning to ask if the real problem is a dodgy dossier or a dodgy prime minister?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can he now reassure the House that we and the people of this country were not duped and that British soldiers were not sent to their deaths on a false premise?
OAKLEY: Mr. Blair's answer, repeatedly endlessly, is that people should wait for the Iraq survey group to complete its search for weapons.
TONY BLAIR, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: When we know, according to the U.N., not the British government, there are some 300,000 missing people and 80 mass graves, then I happen to believe we still did the right thing.
OAKLEY: As for his use of intelligence:
BLAIR: No, I do not accept that people were misled at all. I stand entirely by what was in the dossier.
OAKLEY: The trouble is that U.S. authorities aren't exactly standing by Mr. Blair's dossier. The CIA has said the evidence wasn't strong enough to be included in the president's State of the Union address, namely that Saddam Hussein was seeking uranium from Niger for a nuclear weapons program.
With Mr. Bush now coming under greater pressure over his use of intelligence material, diplomats wonder if the president will have quite as warm a welcome as before for the man whose troubles seem to have spread across the Atlantic.
(on camera): As for Mr. Blair, many of his M.P.s say the last thing he needs in current circumstances is TV shots of him at the White House, reminding people of his tight relationship with Mr. Bush. Things may have been hot at home lately for Britain's prime minister, but this time, absence is unlikely to make lawmakers' hearts grow fonder.
Robin Oakley, CNN, Downing Street, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WOODRUFF: The complicated relationship between the British prime minister and the American president goes beyond Iraq and military alliances.
With me now for more on all this: our senior political correspondent, Candy Crowley.
Candy, is this meeting good timing for either man?
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SR. POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: No, timing is everything. And, certainly, in politics, that's true. And you're seeing it here. Look, this has been a very rough two weeks for George Bush. With Tony Blair here, it only keeps those questions going yet another day. They might have gone on already, but it certainly gives a fresh lead to the story, with Tony Blair here.
And for Tony Blair -- I think you heard Robin say it -- this is not really particularly the time that Britons want to be reminds of how close Tony Blair is to the White House. Now, to be fair, he was very close with Bill Clinton as well, because Tony Blair has always seen that Britain's future very much depends or walks in tandem with the future of the U.S. So this is a bad time for both of them coming as well when the intelligence agencies from Britain and the U.S. are in this dispute over the uranium in Niger.
WOODRUFF: What do you think President Bush has gotten out of this relationship?
CROWLEY: He got great credibility on the war, obviously. Again, the special relationship between Britain and the U.S. goes back. Ever since that messy business in 1812, it's been a fairly good relationship since then.
And when President Bush came to office, after 9/11, Tony Blair was one of the first and most outspoken leaders in how horrified he was. He stood right by the U.S. And then, when war came up, Tony Blair really was the conduit to Europe. And he really gave George Bush the credibility here that he needed and took away some of the edge that unilateralism. So, as George Bush, who did not come to office as a foreign policy buff, moved, as almost one of the first things in his administration, into the foreign policy field, Tony Blair was the senior person here. And he was the one that gave credibility to what was going on in the Bush administration.
WOODRUFF: Well, on the other side, what has Blair gone out of this relationship?
CROWLEY: Well, again -- and this dates back certainly to the Clinton administration -- Tony Blair, when you look at Europe from Britain's point of view, Europe is the continent, and then there's Britain.
And I think that Tony Blair always felt that Britain's place in the world certainly was -- is perhaps a conduit through which the U.S. views and sometimes the U.S. position is taken to Europe. Now, obviously, that's one of the roles he wanted to play in the Iraq war, didn't turn out too well. As you know, most of the continent in Europe, or much of the continent, at any rate, did not support the war.
But, to a great extent, Tony Blair has seen the U.S. and Britain and Britain's role in the world as tied to the U.S. So he's gotten some of that. But, lately, it's been one of those relationships that, while the two have helped each other quite a bit, when they do get together at this point, they are kind of echoing each other's problems.
WOODRUFF: Well, we're going to be watching them today very closely, body language and all.
CROWLEY: Right.
WOODRUFF: OK, Candy, thank you very much.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired July 17, 2003 - 15:10 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: Before Prime Minister Blair left London for the U.S., he took part in his weekly question-and-answer session in Britain's House of Commons. The sessions are known for their lively debates. And with Blair's critics of the Iraq war more emboldened than ever, the latest question time did not disappoint.
Here's CNN's Robin Oakley.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBIN OAKLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It wasn't quite the send-off Britain's prime minister would have wished before a world tour starting in the U.S. British lawmakers used the last question time before their holidays to keep up the pressure on Tony Blair over those missing weapons of mass destruction and the way his government made use of intelligence information.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The prime minister is now in conflict with United Nations arms inspectors, the BBC, and the Central Intelligence Agency. Is it any wonder that people are now beginning to ask if the real problem is a dodgy dossier or a dodgy prime minister?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can he now reassure the House that we and the people of this country were not duped and that British soldiers were not sent to their deaths on a false premise?
OAKLEY: Mr. Blair's answer, repeatedly endlessly, is that people should wait for the Iraq survey group to complete its search for weapons.
TONY BLAIR, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: When we know, according to the U.N., not the British government, there are some 300,000 missing people and 80 mass graves, then I happen to believe we still did the right thing.
OAKLEY: As for his use of intelligence:
BLAIR: No, I do not accept that people were misled at all. I stand entirely by what was in the dossier.
OAKLEY: The trouble is that U.S. authorities aren't exactly standing by Mr. Blair's dossier. The CIA has said the evidence wasn't strong enough to be included in the president's State of the Union address, namely that Saddam Hussein was seeking uranium from Niger for a nuclear weapons program.
With Mr. Bush now coming under greater pressure over his use of intelligence material, diplomats wonder if the president will have quite as warm a welcome as before for the man whose troubles seem to have spread across the Atlantic.
(on camera): As for Mr. Blair, many of his M.P.s say the last thing he needs in current circumstances is TV shots of him at the White House, reminding people of his tight relationship with Mr. Bush. Things may have been hot at home lately for Britain's prime minister, but this time, absence is unlikely to make lawmakers' hearts grow fonder.
Robin Oakley, CNN, Downing Street, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WOODRUFF: The complicated relationship between the British prime minister and the American president goes beyond Iraq and military alliances.
With me now for more on all this: our senior political correspondent, Candy Crowley.
Candy, is this meeting good timing for either man?
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SR. POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: No, timing is everything. And, certainly, in politics, that's true. And you're seeing it here. Look, this has been a very rough two weeks for George Bush. With Tony Blair here, it only keeps those questions going yet another day. They might have gone on already, but it certainly gives a fresh lead to the story, with Tony Blair here.
And for Tony Blair -- I think you heard Robin say it -- this is not really particularly the time that Britons want to be reminds of how close Tony Blair is to the White House. Now, to be fair, he was very close with Bill Clinton as well, because Tony Blair has always seen that Britain's future very much depends or walks in tandem with the future of the U.S. So this is a bad time for both of them coming as well when the intelligence agencies from Britain and the U.S. are in this dispute over the uranium in Niger.
WOODRUFF: What do you think President Bush has gotten out of this relationship?
CROWLEY: He got great credibility on the war, obviously. Again, the special relationship between Britain and the U.S. goes back. Ever since that messy business in 1812, it's been a fairly good relationship since then.
And when President Bush came to office, after 9/11, Tony Blair was one of the first and most outspoken leaders in how horrified he was. He stood right by the U.S. And then, when war came up, Tony Blair really was the conduit to Europe. And he really gave George Bush the credibility here that he needed and took away some of the edge that unilateralism. So, as George Bush, who did not come to office as a foreign policy buff, moved, as almost one of the first things in his administration, into the foreign policy field, Tony Blair was the senior person here. And he was the one that gave credibility to what was going on in the Bush administration.
WOODRUFF: Well, on the other side, what has Blair gone out of this relationship?
CROWLEY: Well, again -- and this dates back certainly to the Clinton administration -- Tony Blair, when you look at Europe from Britain's point of view, Europe is the continent, and then there's Britain.
And I think that Tony Blair always felt that Britain's place in the world certainly was -- is perhaps a conduit through which the U.S. views and sometimes the U.S. position is taken to Europe. Now, obviously, that's one of the roles he wanted to play in the Iraq war, didn't turn out too well. As you know, most of the continent in Europe, or much of the continent, at any rate, did not support the war.
But, to a great extent, Tony Blair has seen the U.S. and Britain and Britain's role in the world as tied to the U.S. So he's gotten some of that. But, lately, it's been one of those relationships that, while the two have helped each other quite a bit, when they do get together at this point, they are kind of echoing each other's problems.
WOODRUFF: Well, we're going to be watching them today very closely, body language and all.
CROWLEY: Right.
WOODRUFF: OK, Candy, thank you very much.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
