This entry was posted on
Monday, August 7th, 2006 at
12:31 pm and is filed
under Tony ‘King Blair.
Mail on Sunday – Straw sacked after ‘US expressed concern over Muslim sympathies’: George Bush put pressure on Tony Blair to sack Jack Straw as Foreign Secretary, it was claimed last night. Washington insiders said the Prime Minister was urged to oust him because of Mr Straw’s sympathy for Muslims and his highly critical view of U.S. foreign policy.
The Times – How the US fired Jack Straw: This is not entirely unprecedented, but the precedent is a bad one. In 1938 Neville Chamberlain wanted to pursue his policy of appeasement, which was opposed by the young Foreign Secretary, Anthony Eden. Chamberlain conspired with the Italian Ambassador in London, Count Grandi, at a Downing Street meeting. Eden was virtually forced to resign on the appeasement issue. I do not know of any other example of a British Prime Minister allowing a foreign power, friendly or otherwise, to decide a senior Cabinet appointment.
By irritant August 7, 2006 - 7:36 pm
(Just in case you missed it) Sydney Blumenthal says: “The National Security Agency is providing signal intelligence to Israel to monitor whether Syria and Iran are supplying new armaments to Hezbollah as it fires hundreds of missiles into northern Israel, according to a national security official with direct knowledge of the operation. President Bush has approved the secret program…”http://www.salon.com/opinion/blumenthal/2006/08/03/mideast/