Blair hit by Lebanon backlash

Blair hit by Lebanon backlash as minister admits ceasefire 'mistake'
The war lasted 34 days. It left 1,393 people dead. Another 5,350 injured. And more than 1,150,000 displaced, of whom 215,413 are still homeless. The damage amounts to more than £2.6bn. Exactly one month after it ended, a Foreign Office minister admits that Tony Blair should have called for a ceasefire.
(From the Independent, 14th September 2006)

Perhaps it's not very popular these days to say this, but I like Tony Blair. Perhaps it's because I don't live in England anymore. European politicians -German politicians- are extremely boring. Tony has charisma. When his back is against the wall, he is a fighter!
Although I like him, I think his foreign policy is too much in line with the USA. I'm not anti-USA but they are way off in their appreciation of the world situation making the threat of terror more acute. It's the USA foreign policy that is the best recruiter for extremists.
And Tony follow this wholeheartedly. I believe that he is sincere, sincerely wrong.
The USA is the strongest ally and basically a guardian of our way of life, but sometimes it's good to criticise our friends.
With a battle for the leadership of the labour party now commencing, opportunists will start distancing themselves from policies - they need to look after their future. At little bit more backbone at the time of events would have been good.
Isarel's attack on Lebanon, while being justified was way out of proportion. My guess is that Hizbollah will determine the next (democratic) government in Lebanon.