Bush 'brainwashed' Blair over Iraq

[kskiska]

BRITISH Prime Minister Tony Blair was in favour of announcing a timetable to pull troops out of Iraq, but was "brainwashed" out of it by US President George W. Bush, Iraq's Vice President said in a speech in New York today.

Tareq al-Hashemi told New York's Council on Foreign Relations that when he spoke to Mr Blair about three months ago, the British leader was supportive of his appeal for the US and Britain to say when they would withdraw.

"I had just convinced him," Mr Hashemi said. "He promised he was going to discuss the subject with President Bush, but at the end of the day, it's quite unfortunate, that your president (made) some sort of brainwashing of Mr Blair."

But Mr Hashemi also said any withdrawal of troops should be conditional on US training of Iraq's security forces.

more…
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,20956638-1702,00.html

[Canuckistanian]

1. Brainwashed???

The day Commander Bunnypants McFightsuit gains power over a sentient creature's mind is the day pigs taxi for takeoff.

[slingsam]

5. That's pure assumption!

That the poodle...had a brain.....to be washed.....at all!!!!!

[Canuckistanian]

7. Very true

He doesn't seem to be the brightest bulb in the box, now does he?

[San Diego]

16. Brainwashed? Bribed is more like it.

Doesn't Dubya have connections high enough up to get Blair a lifetime cushion position with the Carlyle Group?

[tuvor]

2. Blair's a victim, can'tcha see?

:eyes:

[cutlassmama]

3. Brainwashed?

Sounds like he's trying to back peddle now

[goforit]

4. Pathetic!!!.

[lovuian]

6. Whats next Bush casted a spell???

Blair has to be responsible

[IndianaGreen]

8. This is the funniest thread I've ever read about the Bush-Blair relationship

Back in Britain, a respected think tank issued a critical report today saying that Blair was mistaken that he could influence George Bush by going along with him on Iraq. The report also said that the "special relationship" Britain has with the US is a British view, while the Americans see the Brits as subservient. The report also described the Bush Administration as being immersed in Byzantine politics.

I suppose saying that Bush has "brainwashed," or bewitched Blair, makes just as much sense!

[ninkasi]

17. It's hard to believe

that a person elected to lead a country would be so weak as to succumb to brainwashing, especially if the person doing the brainwashing is as inarticulate and unintelligent as Chimp. Is Blair truly that dense?

[IndianaGreen]

18. Check this article: Iraq was terrible mistake, thinktank says

Iraq was terrible mistake, thinktank says

Mark Tran
Tuesday December 19, 2006
Guardian Unlimited

The decision to invade Iraq was a "terrible mistake" that would shape Tony Blair's legacy for years to come, a leading thinktank said today.

A Chatham House paper on 10 years of foreign policy under Mr Blair concluded that its root failure was an inability to influence George Bush.

However, the foreign secretary, Margaret Beckett, defended Mr Blair against the critique, written by the outgoing Chatham House director, Victor Bulmer-Thomas.

Mrs Beckett described the publication as "threadbare, insubstantial and just plain wrong", adding: "Chatham House has established a great reputation over the years, but this paper will do nothing to enhance it."

While the report said there had been qualified successes in Mr Blair's first term, the decision to provide diplomatic cover for Mr Bush's decision to invade Iraq was the defining moment of his foreign policy and premiership.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,,1975322,00.html

[ninkasi]

19. Ironic, is it not

that Blair had to have known that Bush was only listening to the evidence he wished to listen to. He has many other flaws, but Blair is not as unintelligent as Bush. I believe that he went along with the whole fiasco, because he was willing to gamble that Bush might be right, that the whole affair would be the famous "cakewalk", and that he could reap the political benefits of being Bush's ally.

Greed, and vanity, can cause much harm. Even if we weren't bogged down now in this whole ungodly mess, the invasion of Iraq was immoral to begin with. America might not be suffering as much now, but it was still the wrong thing to do. Blair's legacy, along with his master's, is shot. What political leader want's to go down in history as the poodle of the worst president in American history?

[IndianaGreen]

21. A lot of Democrats voted for IWR thinking the war would be a cakewalk

and that after a short conflict, the public would care little for the complaints of the antiwar movement. Needless to say, we sure got a lot of bad karma out of this fiasco.

[ninkasi]

24. Because I respect you, IG

I'm asking this as a serious question. Why, with the education, and information, available to so many of the ruling parties, could they not see what we saw? I dropped out of high school in 1960 to get married, but like to think that I've continued educating myself over the years. Nothing about this war, or occupation, seemed to make sense to me. Had Bush truly believed that Iraq had WMD, would he have invaded with such a small force?

When the weapons inspectors found nothing, how could highly paid journalists, and well-known political figures, claim that they were swayed by Bush? Were none of them capable of forming an independent thought, or using reasoning? When Bush brazenly announced, in several televised speeches, that we invaded because Iraq refused to allow weapons inspectors in, why did none of them point out that they were, in fact there, and had to leave so that Bush could masturbate to shock and awe?

If an older woman, who has not had the benefit of a higher education, and absolutely no military expertise could predict the way this illegal invasion would unfold, why did our so-called leaders go along with the whole fiasco? I can understand, to a certain extent, the citizens whose lives are so busy that they only catch blurbs on Fox, or CNN, being deceived. I fail to understand, though, how college graduates, and professionals with a great deal of experience can claim to have been honestly misled.

The only conclusion I can come to, is that politicians, regardless of party, made their decisions according to whatever the polls said. If a great number of them, instead of a few brave souls, had come forward then, would we be in this mess today? I can't say, but I do know that you are many times more astute politically than me, and I'd truly enjoy your opinion.

[Solly Mack]

9. LOL

[TheCowsCameHome]

10. A light rinse would have been enough for the poodle.

[NVMojo]

11. I can't wait to find out who gets blamed for "brain-washing" the Chimp!

[rodeodance]

12. so the Brits have a brain-washed PM.

[Lisa]

22. they shouldn't feel too bad ... our PM here in Canada comes pre-brainwashed!

Harper's with the Conservatives ... he was cozying up to Bush even when he was still in Opposition.

[LeftishBrit]

29. Well, there's definitely SOMETHING wrong with his brain!

[CHIMO]

13. Wonder

What chemical was used in the family?

[gratuitous]

14. And I thought the American press was gullible

Well it is, but puh-leeze! Blair "brainwashed" by Bush?! They're just really reaching, aren't they?

[maddogesq]

15. Zappa: "The Poodle bites, the Poodle chews it...snap it.

Need I say more?

[Fovea]

27. Not a speck of cereal.

Nothin but the best for my dog.

[Lautremont]

20. I think he just used hocus-pocus. (nt)

[cyberpj]

23. Bush probably threatened to withdraw the Carlyle job Tony w/be taking. nt

[Jacobin]

25. ding ding ding

We have a winner.

[KansDem]

26. Ha haha...hahahah...ha...haha...

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ha...hahaha...ha...haha...ha......ha...haha...hahaha...ha...haha...ha......ha...haha...
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haha...ha......ha...haha...hahaha...ha...ha...hahaha...ha...haha...ha......ha...haha...
hahaha...ha......ha

[truthisfreedom]

28. maybe bush can brainwash barney...

but i doubt he could brainwash a poodle. they're just too dang smart.