Blair to meet Bush on Mideast facing criticism (former advisor)

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Prime Minister Tony Blair faced growing pressure to distance himself from his ally the United States over the Middle East as he headed for talks with U.S. President George W. Bush in Washington on Friday.

As he did during the Iraq war, Blair has sided squarely with Washington over the conflict between Israel and Hizbollah guerrillas, putting himself at odds with Arab nations and European allies by refusing to call for an immediate cease-fire.


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His popularity already dented by his stance on Iraq, Blair's line has opened him to criticism that he is blindly following Washington and not doing enough to stop the deaths of civilians.

"I defy any person watching TV not to cry out loud for an immediate cease-fire in Lebanon. Yet our government and that of the U.S. have weasel-worded their way through this tragedy," Stephen Wall, a former top foreign policy adviser to Blair, wrote in this week's New Statesman magazine.

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