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Tony Blair prepares to visit the US
( 2001-09-19 13:52 ) (7 )

The week before the terrorist attacks on the United States, the British press pounced on a remark by US President George W. Bush -- that his country "has no more important relationship in the world than our relationship with Mexico" -- as a sign that Britain had been cast aside.

Not any more.

Prime Minister Tony Blair, who heads to Washington on Thursday at Bush's invitation, has quickly emerged as America's strongest international ally in the newly declared war against terrorism, re-igniting talk of the special relationship between the two English-speaking countries.

Blair immediately declared that Britain stood "shoulder to shoulder" with America after the attacks in New York and Washington, brushing aside fears that his strong support could make cities like London a target.

He has used the same "war" terminology as Bush, and has worked nonstop to build international support for action against the perpetrators.

"Obviously it is important that we build the maximum consensus and there is a genuine consensus developing, not just in terms of condemning what happened, but also in agreeing the need to act against mass terrorism," said a spokesman from Blair's 10 Downing St. office, speaking with customary anonymity.

Blair is due to fly to the United States Thursday after a frenetic round of talks with European leaders that will see him sitting down to dinner with German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder on Wednesday evening, followed by a breakfast meeting the next day with French President Jacques Chirac.

Downing Street said Blair would fly from Paris to New York City to meet relatives of the hundreds of British victims in the attack and to thank the emergency workers, before heading to Washington to see Bush. On Friday, Blair planned to return to Europe for an emergency European Union summit.

"This is about tackling mass terrorism in the short, medium and long-term," said Blair's spokesman. "It is important that we understand each other's positions as well as possible."

In the past few days, Blair has consulted leaders such as Pakistan's Gen. Pervez Musharraf, Russian President Vladimir Putin and China's Jiang Zemin by phone, welcomed the Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi to Downing Street, and met African leaders from Senegal, Nigeria, Ghana, Botswana, Tanzania and Mozambique at his country estate.

Blair's role in international consensus-building is not surprising. Britain has often tried to position itself as a bridge between the United States and Europe, and Britain's close ties with many of its former colonies puts it in a good position to press for global support.

"When we merely offer words of support, that's the easy part in one sense," Blair told CNN in an interview broadcast on Sunday. "The hard part starts when we actually take the action, but I think that support will be there. ... There has to be a response to bring those terrorists who committed this attack to account and we will play our full part."

Britain frequently acts as the main partner alongside the United States in military conflicts -- British jets fly alongside the Americans in patrolling Iraq's no-fly zones, British troops work with their American counterparts in the Balkans and Britain played a leading role during the Gulf War.

That special relationship was fostered decades ago by fellow conservatives Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan, and nurtured by the like-minded Bill Clinton and Blair. While Blair and Bush come from different sides of the political spectrum, the British leader has been extremely vocal in his support since Tuesday's attack.

"Mr. Blair welcomes the fact that the American administration is consulting widely and building a coalition of international support for any response to last week's atrocities," said his spokeswoman.