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| Blair in Washington for farewell |
| The White House meetings are designed to honor their long partnership and are expected to produce no major results.
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| UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
, 17-May-2007
2:7:35 AM |
| Prime Minister Tony Blair is making the final White House visit of his tenure to mark a friendship with US President George W Bush that many believe tarnished the legacy of the once popular British leader.
The White House meetings are designed to honor their long partnership and are expected to produce no major results.
Bush is hosting Blair at the White House for a private dinner on Wednesday and a rare overnight stay for a foreign leader in the bedroom of the US executive mansion used by Winston Churchill during his frequent World War II-era visits.
The visit is one of a series of meetings for Blair with foreign leaders during a carefully choreographed exit after his announcement last week that he will step down as prime minister on June 27.
''I think the visit is more sentimental and social than substantive,'' said Henry Catto, a US ambassador to London under former President George H W Bush and current chairman of the Atlantic Council of the United States.
Blair arrived at the White House on Wednesday, ahead of the dinner with Bush.
The president and his wife, Laura, greeted Blair briefly in front of cameras, but the leaders were not making public comments Wednesday night. They planned to discuss a range of issues on Thursday, and then hold a joint news conference.
As Blair prepares to step aside for his likely successor, Gordon Brown, he has a limited ability to reach substantial policy decisions in talks with Bush.
His standing at home has been severely undermined by the unpopularity of the Iraq war and a perception that his steadfast support of Bush's policies have not produced reciprocal results for Britain. Britain is by far the largest non-US contributor of forces to the war.
''It has been a significant part of Blair's undoing that he was seen as being so close and unquestionably loyal to Bush,''
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