BUSH MEETS UK PM GORDON BROWN

First of all, CNN has been wondering all day if new prime minister Gordon Brown will hit it off as well as his predecessor Tony Blair had, even sharing a toothpaste brand and calling each other Tony and Blair. Apart from the cuteness of CNN copy writers calling the meeting "The Blair Switch Project", of course they aren't going to hit it off. Perhaps personally, but Tony Blair stepped down and ruined the credibility of his party by siding with Bush on Iraq. So Gordon certainly isn't going to become Bush's "poodle", as Blair was called. Knowing not to trust our news, I searched liberal newspaper The UK Guardian for a different perspective:



The prime minister, by contrast, hailed the relationship with America as the most important bilateral relationship for Britain, but held back from any personal praise of President Bush, in what is likely to have been a calculated decision to put the bilateral relations on a more formal footing. Mr Brown also read out a businesslike lengthy statement and surprisingly described the talks simply as "full and frank", normally diplomatic language for a cool relationship. The atmosphere suggested the British delegation is determined to rid themselves of the image of poodle to a Republican administration that has only 18 months to run.

At the same time British sources stressed that Mr Brown wanted to work with President Bush on the practical issues they faced, particularly world trade, Darfur and the Middle East. In what may prove a difficult issue this autumn, British government sources stressed that Mr Brown will make his decision on British troop deployments in Iraq solely on the basis of the advice of the British military, and implicitly not in order to meet any request from the US to stay alongside American troops.

READ MORE: GUARIAN

For his part, Blair has appointed himself as a peacemaing envoy between Israel and Palestine, since it's seen that unless the confict between these country is solved, hope for Middle East peace is folly. But is Blair really that popular? Certainly not with muslims, who see him as promary poodle. Maybe Blair feels guilty for making UK Bush's chief ally in Iraq. AND HE CERTAINLY SHOULD!