Malaise? You should see the state of Iraq

This evening, President Jimmy Carter gave an extraordinary interview to BBC's Newsnight programme. In it, he was heavily critical of the Bush administration's policies on Iraq, and of Tony Blair's apparant lack of influence on them. He also spoke about the worrying breakdown of boundaries between religion and state in the US over the last 20 years, and of the impact of his own faith on his political beliefs.

Essentially there is nothing I can say here which President Carter didn't say himself - he managed to articulate everything I have been thinking recently about our present situation. I strongly urge you to watch the interview, here.

Of all the extremely good points made, the one I would like to develop here above all is the relationship between Tony Blair and George Bush. I am, and always will be, in favour of a strong friendship between our two nations and, where possible, between our two governments. However, as President Carter points out, the British government has recently been "subservient" to the policies coming out of Washington, to the extent that the our government "automatically...adopted the same policies without exerting its influence".

There was a brief three year period, 1997-2000, in which the Clinton and Blair administrations worked together effectively (although not always perfectly) to further the causes of social and political justice in the world. Since then, my government - who are traditionally allied with the Democrats - has been willing to defer to everything Washington says in order to remain America's "friend".

I have been a member of the Labour party for 12 years, and have actively campaigned for Tony Blair and the party at three General Elections. It saddens me greatly, therefore, to see my party leader give in so regularly to the policies of an administration which started off right-wing and seems intent on drifting further in that direction. It is one thing to hold right-wing views, as George Bush does; it is quite another to derive your political philosophy and support from a left-wing movement, but still to defer spinelessly to a right-wing "ally" for the purpose of maintaining an easy life. In that regard, I consider Blair's actions to be far worse than Bush's - whether he believes in them or not, he has betrayed the very people that brought him to power in the first place.

I hope President Carter's words will be heeded on both sides of the Atlantic. It is refreshing to hear a Southern Baptist, who happened also to be President, talk of the wrong that is being done in the name of Christianity at present. I'm off to find a copy of President Carter's latest book, Faith and Freedom: The Christian Challenge for the World. I imagine it'll be a fascinating read.