THE ACCIDENTAL AMERICAN: Tony Blair and the Presidency

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. (Sept.)