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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: tejek who wrote (313238)	11/30/2006 4:09:14 PM
From: Road Walker	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1572934

US furious at official's shame over Bush and Blair 1 hour, 25 minutes ago The US government furiously rejected comments by a senior State Department analyst that he was "ashamed" of how President George W. Bush treated British Prime Minister Tony Blair. The official, Kendall Myers, set off a diplomatic embarrassment by also reportedly saying US-British relations were "totally one-sided" and London's political bridge between Europe and the United States was falling down. But State Department deputy spokesman Tom Casey mounted a damage control effort, after Myers's remarks at an academic forum were plastered across the front page of Britain's Times newspaper. "We repudiate and disassociate ourselves from these comments," said Casey, stressing that Myers had no role in formulating American foreign policy. "The comments, frankly, I think, could be described as ill-informed, and I think from our perspective, just plain wrong." The Times quoted Myers, a foreign research analyst in the department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research, as saying the transatlantic relationship was "totally one-sided" and Britain's self-appointed role as a bridge between America and Europe was "disappearing before our eyes." "We typically ignore them and take no notice. ... It's a sad business," Myers was quoted as saying, adding that he felt a "little ashamed" of Bush's treatment of Blair, according to the paper. "What I think and fear is that Britain will draw back from the US without moving closer to Europe. In that sense, London's bridge is falling down." The British prime minister took a huge political risk by siding with Bush over the Iraq war, and his personal political popularity has eroded as a result. Casey's comments made clear that Myers's position at the State Department was now in the balance. "He was not authorized to speak as a department official or in the name of the department, and certainly wasn't doing so, from our perspective," said Casey, adding that department officials were discussing the incident with Myers. "Once all the information has been gathered, then the department will look at what actions might be appropriate," he said. Casey also defended the health of the "special relationship" between Britain and the United States. "It is a special relationship. It is a very unique one. We certainly know that the world would be a worse place without our partnership."