LONDON — Prime Minister Tony Blair has been President Bush's staunchest ally in the Iraq war. But when the two meet Friday at the White House, chances are the British leader will give his American partner a message: Shift course to put a more international face on the struggle to rebuild Iraq.
Blair arrives in Washington at a time when the conflict seems at its bleakest point in terms of rising casualties and dwindling opportunities to win over the Iraqi public. In fighting this month, more than 80 members of the U.S.-led coalition have been killed, the highest fatality rate since the invasion last year.
Many of Blair's Labor Party colleagues have doubts about Britain's participation in the war and the postwar transition effort that appears to be unraveling.
Meanwhile, Conservative and Liberal Democratic opponents in Britain are sharpening their criticisms about the conduct of U.S. forces and questioning whether Britain wields any weight as the junior partner in the alliance.
The Liberal Democrats' shadow foreign secretary, Menzies Campbell, called attention Wednesday to the heavy fire laid down by U.S. Marines in the Iraqi city of Fallouja after the slaying and mutilation two weeks ago of four American private security contractors. Hundreds of Iraqis were killed in the fighting that followed, Iraqi and U.S. spokesmen said, and Iraqis have charged that women and children died in addition to armed insurgents.
"Heavy-handed military action in Iraq will invite opposition, create support for radical elements and undermine the long-term political objectives of a democratic Iraq," Campbell said.
"When the prime minister meets President Bush, he must impress upon him the need to ensure that military force is targeted, specific and proportionate," Campbell said. "Anything else will simply play into the hands of the worst elements in Iraq."
British government spokesmen said there were no differences between Blair and Bush on the conduct of the war.
Nevertheless, Rosemary Hollis, a Middle East expert at the Royal Institute of International Affairs, said she expected Blair to make the case privately to Bush that the war requires more international involvement and a "much bigger role" for the United Nations. That would be in keeping with Blair's longtime preference for a broad-based multilateral approach to Iraq, she said.
Blair's first stop in the United States is to be at United Nations headquarters today, where he is to confer with U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
