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Sat 11 Sep, 2004 10:50 pm
Colin Powell in four-letter neo-con 'crazies' row
Martin Bright
Sunday September 12, 2004
The Observer UK
A furious row has broken out over claims in a new book by BBC broadcaster James Naughtie that US Secretary of State Colin Powell described neo-conservatives in the Bush administration as '******* crazies' during the build-up to war in Iraq.
Powell's extraordinary outburst is alleged to have taken place during a telephone conversation with Foreign Secretary Jack Straw. The two became close friends during the intense negotiations in the summer of 2002 to build an international coalition for intervention via the United Nations. The 'crazies' are said to be Vice-President Dick Cheney, Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and his deputy, Paul Wolfowitz.
Last week, the offices of Powell and Straw contacted Public Affairs, the US publishers of Naughtie's book, to say they would vigorously deny the claims if publication went ahead. But as no legal action was threatened, the US launch of the book, The Accidental American: Tony Blair and the Presidency, will proceed as planned this week.
Naughtie stands by his claims and is said to be privately delighted that Powell and Straw have reacted so violently to the suggestion that the former US general had fallen out with the 'neo-cons'.
Provocatively, the phrase '******* crazies' will be quoted on the jacket of the book, according to a source at the publisher. 'We were surprised to receive calls from the offices of Jack Straw and Colin Powell within 24 hours of each other,' the source said.
Naughtie claims that Powell and Straw spoke on an almost daily basis. Powell's concerns were said to have chimed with Straw's and those of Blair himself - that if America acted without UN sanction, allies would be lost.
Cheney and his allies were preparing for a spring war and did not wish to be deflected by the UN inspection process. Powell is thought to have been terrified that the strategy of the 'crazies' would alienate the Blair government, which believed it needed UN backing to win over Parliament and the British public.
John Kampfner, political editor of the New Statesman and author of Blair's Wars, said Naughtie's characterisation of the feverish political atmosphere of the summer of 2002 was entirely accurate. 'The British government saw Powell as the most significant voice of sanity in the US administration. At different times during this very difficult period, the Brits used Powell to get across their point of view to the White House. But, bizarrely, Powell sometimes also used Blair to pass messages to Bush.'
Kampfner's book, which covers the Blair government's military adventures in Kosovo, Sierra Leone and Afghanistan, as well as Iraq, reported that in July 2002 Blair sent his foreign policy adviser David Manning on a secret mission to Washington to deliver a letter hinting that, without a second UN resolution, Britain would not be able to join a war in Iraq.
The Accidental American: Tony Blair and the Presidency
The Accidental American: Tony Blair and the Presidency
by James Naughtie
Availability: This title will be released on September 21, 2004.
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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
British journalist Naughtie chronicles the unlikely alliance between Labour Prime Minister Blair and his conservative Republican counterpart in the White House. Great emphasis is placed on the aftermath of 9/11 and the leadup to the Iraq war, during which Blair defied his fellow European leaders, and much of his own party, by supporting the use of force to oust Saddam Hussein.
Naughtie's character sketch of the British prime minister works against charges that he was merely a "dupe" of the neoconservatives, or, as some commentators unfavorably described him, "Bush's poodle." Rather, Blair emerges as a man of deep conviction, a strong Christian faith and a consistent belief that force can be used to accomplish a moral purpose, as was evidenced by the Western intervention in Kosovo and Bosnia.
Following a familiar narrative on the post-9/11 Blair, Naughtie finds him taking the opportunity to act as a bridge between the United States and Europe: Blair shared the Americans' sense of threat and willingness to use force, but he also respected the European opposition to unilateralism and the need to work through institutions. Despite criticism, and even resignations from his own cabinet, Blair, as we see him here, never wavered in his belief that Operation Iraqi Freedom was a just cause. Naughtie offers little that's new on Blair, but connects all the dots cleanly.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Synopsis
An award-winning political journalist shows what the passionate and puzzling relationship between Tony Blair and America reveals about our two countries and our disordered world Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blair is the most popular foreign leader in the United States, and one whose support for America has made him widely reviled at home. Why did Blair become such an object of fascination here? What are Democrats to make of their old friend's attachment to Bush? In a Europe profoundly skeptical about a new American imperialism, why did Blair decide to face resolutely west across the Atlantic?
To James Naughtie, a renowned British journalist with unparalleled knowledge of Blair and a deep understanding of American politics, the story of our love affair with Blair provides a fascinating mirror on the troubles facing Western democracies, and on America itself. In The Accidental American, the first book about Blair written specifically for American readers, he explores how a politician swept to power by a party once avowedly socialist came to make common cause with American neo-conservatives; and became the gatekeeper between America and Western Europe. Though Blair has been feted by.......
About the Author
James Naughtie is a renowned program presenter on the BBC, and a former chief political correspondent of The Guardian. He is an award-winning broadcaster and writer who has contributed to many newspapers and magazines, and was Laurence M. Stern Fellow on The Washington Post. Naughtie, who is a graduate of Syracuse University, is a frequent visitor to the United States. He lives in London with his family.
Book Description
Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blair is the most popular foreign leader in the United States, and one whose support for America has made him widely reviled at home. Why did Blair become such an object of fascination here? What are Democrats to make of their old friend's attachment to Bush? In a Europe profoundly skeptical about a new American imperialism, why did Blair decide to face resolutely west across the Atlantic?
To James Naughtie, a renowned British journalist with unparalleled knowledge of Blair and a deep understanding of American politics, the story of our love affair with Blair provides a fascinating mirror on the troubles facing Western democracies, and on America itself. In The Accidental American, the first book about Blair written specifically for American readers, he explores how a politician swept to power by a party once avowedly socialist came to make common cause with American neo-conservatives; and became the gatekeeper between America and Western Europe.
Though Blair has been feted by Congress and is beloved by the White House, his real beliefs about America remain almost unknown. Naughtie has watched Blair close-up for many years and has many contacts inside his circle of friends and advisors. In the tumult of a presidential election year, this book provides a revelatory portrait of a master politician and revelatory insights into the politics and character of our own country.
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