The resilience of Tony Blair

CNN coverage of Claire Short's comments

Ok, so either this lady is lying through her teeth, or Mr. Blair has some explaining to do. You know, I kinda like the guy. He has a bit of charisma, something I sure can't say about GW. Call me shallow; I like my leaders to carry themselves like leaders. So, as I was saying, if Ms. Short is speaking the truth, that she saw transcripts of Kofi Annan's phone conversations, then someone's gotta 'fess up. And here's Blair: "Whether intentionally or not, those who do attack the work our security services are doing undermine the essential security of this country, ... The fact that those allegations were made, I think, is deeply irresponsible."

Hmph. You are confusing me, man. Learn some lessons from your alleged Texan buddy's alleged shooting-from-the-hip mantra. Speak straight. Are you saying Short's lying? Or are you saying that she isn't lying, but if someone in the government asks the intel guys to do something ultra vires, you just clam up and say nothing? Au contraire, my friend. The damage will not be to national security. The damage should be to those who ordered this illegal act. Unless, of course, it's you ;)

"Blair said intelligence agents "always act in accordance with domestic and international law." " (CNN article above). Very funny. We know how law-abiding intel services are, esp. when asked by the PM to do something.

British politics must be pretty staid. The leader of one of the parliamentary houses resigns in protest on your policies, so does another cabinet minister, you commit soldiers to an internationally condemned war based on questionable evidence in spite of widespread domestic opposition, can't find WMDs you were so certain of, and now, another former cabinet minister says she saw transcripts of the UN Sec General's phone conversations, tapped on your govt.'s orders by your security agencies. And you are still the PM? Nice job, Tony, nice job!