Blair May Have Tough Time as Ally on Iraq

Yahoo-AP: Tony Blair paid at the polls for his friendship with George W. Bush and his backing of the Iraq war. Now he may have trouble playing the role of faithful U.S. ally [db-puppy] on any future military mission.

The prime minister was able to drag Britain into war despite resistance among the public and even within his own Labour Party largely because his huge majority of 161 seats in Parliament gave him a broad mandate to dictate foreign policy.

He will probably no longer be able to swim against the tide of public opinion with his new majority of just 66 following Thursday's election.

Blair said he heard the voters' message."I have listened and I have learned," he said Friday. "I know that Iraq has been a deeply divisive issue in this country. That has been very, very clear. But I also know and believe that after this election people want to move on."

Emblematic of how domestic concerns may now start limiting the prime minister internationally, the Kremlin said Blair decided Friday to skip one of the most high-profile international gatherings of the year: Victory in Europe commemorations Monday in Moscow.

The reason he gave Russian President Vladimir Putin was that he would be too busy forming a new Cabinet - itself an indication that policy changes also may be afoot.

While the parliamentary cushion of 66 seats may be enough to push through reforms on social and economic policy, Blair faces anti-war factions in his party that would now almost certainly have the numbers to block any attempt to follow any new military initiative by President Bush.

"One of the conclusions of this is that he certainly does not have a mandate to launch another war along with George Bush," said Robin Cook, who resigned as foreign secretary to protest the Iraq invasion. Read more