The relationship between Mr Bush and Mr Blair has done untold damage both at home and abroad
The ceasefire in Lebanon is holding, if only by a thread, which makes it all the more unacceptable that there was so much reluctance on the part of the British government to call for it from the outset. By procrastinating, the government found itself ranged against Kofi Annan, its own party and the majority of the British people.
While there was no ceasefire, many Lebanese and Israelis were killed or wounded. While there was no ceasefire, the infrastructure of Lebanon was obliterated, Hizbollah gained in stature and the Israeli government was weakened. Who would dare say that the Middle East is now a safer, more stable place than it was before the fighting began?
A ceasefire was not just the right thing to do - it was the only sensible thing to do. A ceasefire was rooted in principle and pragmatism. The government's failure to understand this was a major misjudgment, but we should not be surprised. It reflects, albeit in a lower key, the misjudgment of military action against Iraq. It springs from the Prime Minister's evangelical view of foreign policy.
Foreign affairs is a world of relative values; it is no place for evangelism, which elevates belief over knowledge, conviction over judgment and instinct over understanding. In the Middle East, knowledge, judgment and understanding are more useful allies than belief, conviction and instinct, particularly when all three are wrong.
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,1854244,00.html