Blair speaks to Congress

[MKSheppard]

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- British Prime Minister Tony Blair told Congress Thursday afternoon that the September 11 terror attacks were a prologue to a larger battle that continued with the war in Iraq.

"There never has been a time when the power of America has been so necessary or misunderstood," Blair said to loud applause.

Blair's trip to the United States comes amid the contentious dispute over the veracity of intelligence reports on Iraq's banned weapons programs.

Blair, under pressure at home over his support for U.S. policy in Iraq, is the first British prime minister to address a joint meeting of Congress since Margaret Thatcher in 1985.

Blair spoke of global values and trans- Atlantic relations. He told Congress that intervention by the United States and Great Britain in global conflicts has a positive effect.

"There is no more dangerous theory in international politics than that we need to balance the power of America with other competitive powers; different poles around which nations gather," he said. "It is dangerous because it is not rivalry but partnership we need; a common will and a shared purpose in the face of a common threat."

He also called on world leaders to support efforts for positive change, particularly in Afghanistan and the Middle East.

"Our new world rests on order. The danger is disorder. And in today's world, it can now spread like contagion," Blair said. "The terrorists and the states that support them don't have large armies or precision weapons; they don't need them. Their weapon is chaos."

Blair was greeted at the Capitol by House and Senate leaders, including Minority Leader Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California, one of many House Democrats pushing for more international involvement in the securing and rebuilding of Iraq.

"I hope he will pledge to urge President Bush to quickly internationalize the occupation activities in Iraq," Pelosi said. "I plan to ask the prime minister whether progress has been made on that internationalization."

Blair was not expected to address in his speech the dispute over dubious intelligence that said Saddam Hussein had tried to purchase uranium from an African nation.

Blair may defend pre-war intelligence

However, in a scheduled news conference with Bush, Blair may defend his nation's intelligence on weapons programs, the official said.

In his January 28 State of the Union address, Bush accused Saddam of trying to buy "significant quantities of uranium" from an unnamed African country. He cited British intelligence, which had published a similar report in September.

The United States and Britain received documents, later proven false, that indicated Iraq was trying to obtain uranium from Niger. The CIA doubted the intelligence but allowed Bush to cite the British intelligence in the State of the Union address.

Blair has said he continues to believe that Iraq sought uranium from Africa and that belief is supported by other intelligence obtained from another country that the British government said it can't disclose.

"Everyone needs to take a step back from that one sentence ... and look at the big picture," the British official said, referring to the 16-word line in Bush's speech. "It's been thought for some time Iraq may have had weapons of mass destruction, and there was no doubt Saddam was a threat."

White House spokesman Scott McClellan on Thursday called Blair "a strong leader who is a great friend of the American people. And we have a long-standing and close partnership with Great Britain. We have stood together to advance peace, security and freedom," McClellan said.

Blair and Bush also may discuss another topic that has been dogging the prime minister at home: Nine British citizens being detained at the U.S. Navy base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, on suspicion of involvement in terrorist activities. Two of the British detainees -- Moazzam Begg and Feroz Abbasi -- are set to face a U.S. military tribunal.

If convicted, the men could be sentenced to death. Britain has outlawed the death penalty, and officials there have called for the two men to be tried in their own country.

The issue is especially important for Blair, who has been trying to prove that he does not simply follow Bush's lead.

British Conservative opposition is ahead in voter opinion polls for the first time in a decade, and Blair's Labor Party has turned from supporting his decision to join the Iraqi war.

Poll: Many believe Blair misled public

Two-thirds of the British public said Blair's government misled them in presenting the case for war, according to a poll released this week by ICM Research, an independent polling company. In a another survey conducted by Populus this month, 54 percent of respondents said they did not trust Blair, especially after coalition forces apparently have not found evidence that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction.

Other topics on the Bush-Blair agenda include the Kyoto Treaty on global warming and efforts to curb the spread of AIDS in Africa, the British official said.

After the U.S. visit, Blair's itinerary takes him to Japan, South Korea and China, including former British colony Hong Kong.

Blair is expected to discuss with regional leaders ways to stem North Korea's suspected nuclear weapons program.

[NecronLord]

What the fuck is he doing over there anyway? He should damm well be down in westminister - answering charges about his dodgy - fucking - 'dossiers'.

[Stravo]

What the fuck is he doing over there anyway? He should damm well be down in westminister - answering charges about his dodgy - fucking - 'dossiers'.

Blair kneeling before Bush.

"What is thy bidding my Master."

[Montcalm]

Blair kneeling before Bush.

"What is thy bidding my Master."

Lets hope thats all he does.

[TheDarkling]

What the fuck is he doing over there anyway? He should damm well be down in westminister - answering charges about his dodgy - fucking - 'dossiers'

Why ask a question and then provide the answer?

I don't mind Blair going aboard I just wish he would go places where it would be useful, like maybe he could come up with some sort of position on the EU instead of being all over the shop because he is too afraid to annoy the US and even more face the true ruler of the country, The Sun.

[Stravo]

Excuse my ignorance, but is the dossier issue in any way related to the intelligence on Uranium in Africa?

[Dahak]

IIRC one of the problems with the dossier is the alleged 45 minutes it should have taken Hussein to deploy his alleged WMDs.