Biography: Blair Thought Chirac 'Out to Get Him'

[Flagg]

Biography: Blair Thought Chirac 'Out to Get Him'
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By Andrew Cawthorne

LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Tony Blair (news - web sites) thought French leader Jacques Chirac was "out to get him" by exploiting acrimony over Iraq (news - web sites) to supersede him in Europe, according to extracts of a new biography of Blair published on Monday.



"I'm convinced he believed the conflict with Chirac had expanded beyond Iraq to become a contest for the political leadership of Europe," author Philip Stephens told Reuters.


"Chirac hoped that Blair would be toppled."


Stephens' view of the tense Anglo-French relationship was the most revelatory part of sections of his biography: "From Tony Blair," to be launched early next month.


In extracts published by his paper, the Financial Times, Stephens traced the growing feud early last year when Britain's support of the coming U.S.-led war in Iraq was bitterly opposed by Paris.


"During the next few months Blair came to believe -- partly on the basis of reports from British intelligence -- that the dispute over Iraq was in fact a proxy for a much more serious contest," Stephens wrote.


"Chirac, these reports said, had decided that Blair had usurped his own position as the natural leader of Europe. It was time for the French president to reassert himself and to clip the wings of perfidious Albion.


"Unsurprisingly, French officials dismissed this analysis. But Blair came to believe it, telling close aides that Chirac was 'out to get him."' Relations between London and Paris hit their lowest point days before the war when the British government accused France of scuttling a U.N. resolution authorizing military action.


http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20040126/pl_nm/iraq_blair_chirac_dc&cid=615&ncid=1478


what a delusional piece of crap the poodle is
pathetic

[Flagg]

1. a quote from the article

"'Once we have victory in Baghdad, all the critics will look like fools' Cheney told one high-ranking British official during the summer of 2002 ...

LOL

[Skidmore]

2. Explains why Blair spent so much time

sucking up to *. It was a power play for control of Europe.

[NNN0LHI]

3. Paranoid little bastard. Ain't he? n/t

[ozymandius]

4. Blair reminds me of some species of dog.

I can't quite place my finger on which one. But it's the breed known for its nervous shakes and constant pissing.

[Hieronymus]

5. My God,

Blair's finally cracked.
Fear not, he has a guaranteed position with Halliburton.:wtf:

[Iverson]

6. right conclusion, wrong gaze

Blair should have turned 90 degrees to the right and focused.

[Spentastic]

7. If true

This shows exactly how dangerously deluded that Blair is. Chirac had his own vested interests to protect and disagreed with Tony. Chirac has better things to do than race Blair for the head of an organisation that is struggling to unite.

Tony is a wanker.

[Devils Advocate NZ]

8. I believe it's true - at least I HOPE it is!

After all, what exactly is wrong with Chirac trying to topple Blair? Blair thought it was alright to topple Hussein, so why should Blair be any different?

What's good for the goose, is good for the gander.

[T_i_B]

9. hahahahahaha

"Chirac, these reports said, had decided that Blair had usurped his own position as the natural leader of Europe."

Now call me what you will but since when has any British PM looked anything like the "natural leader of Europe" since Churchill? Helmut Kohl and Charles De Gaulle yes but certainly not any post-war British PM.