Bush and Blair's brotherly bond

By John Pienaar
Chief political correspondent for BBC Radio Five Live, in Washington

The empathy between the two men was evident

There was a moment, as George Bush watched Tony Blair fielding questions on Iraq, when the president's eyes actually seemed to be shining with affection and respect.

Of course, it may have been a trick of the harsh television lights. But the sense of empathy between the two leaders was almost tangible - more striking than at any of their previous meetings in Washington, London or anywhere else.

It was there in the spectacle of the president and the prime minister almost competing to assert their faith in their Iraq policy - and the need to maintain the coalition presence until Iraqi forces were capable of policing their own country.

Mr Blair told journalists he had left Iraq, "more than ever convinced that what is important for them, in Iraq, is to know that we will stand firm with them in defeating these forces of reaction".

"I came away thinking that the challenge is still immense, but I also came away more certain than ever that we should rise to it," he added.

High standing

Their empathy was just as evident in the news conference banter. The president said he hoped Mr Blair would remain in Downing Street for as long as he remained in the White House (which may not be quite as pleasing to the ears of Mr Blair's next-door neighbour, his presumed successor, Chancellor Gordon Brown).

True, President Bush probably had more to gain politically from Tony Blair's support than visa versa.

At one point, President Bush admitted that ''Tony'' was a big help in convincing Americans of the rightness of the Iraq cause.

The polls still show Mr Blair's standing with the American public is high. On the other hand, there is no shortage of British critics who see the support of President Bush for Mr Blair on Iraq as final and conclusive proof that the policy is ill-intentioned and wrong.

It does, incidentally, seem Downing Street's in no great hurry to see a congressional medal hung around the prime minister's neck.

But as they stood together in the East Room of the White House, they sounded like two politicians of much the same mind. Top politicians deliver conviction on cue, but this time it was unmistakeable.

'Wrong signal'

Perhaps their obvious fellow feeling provided a source of consolation during the violence in Iraq and sliding poll ratings at home. Either way, it was also a product of their almost religious faith in the rightness of their case.

For good measure, there was self-criticism. Mr Bush said he regretted his cowboy-like tone in earlier days - telling the insurgents ''bring it on'', and warning that the US would catch up with terrorists ''dead or alive''. That had ''sent the wrong signal''.

Later, Tony Blair will argue in a major speech for a stronger UN prepared to stand up against tyranny and for democracy, and a more powerful secretary general.

Not a job application, he insists, but a cause. Ironically, Iraq may have made it harder for Mr Blair to make his voice heard in at least some parts of the world beyond Washington.