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RAW STORYPublished: Sunday February 18, 2007

For two months, Prime Minister Tony Blair offered "extraordinary access to himself and his top aides" to Newsweek, in hopes of rescuing "Blair's legacy from the grip of Iraq," the magazine reports.

"More than any Western leader other than President George W. Bush, British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s reputation has been 'shredded by Iraq,' a senior Bush administration official who would only speak anonymously about a foreign leader, tells Newsweek," notes a press release sent to RAW STORY about the article. "Perhaps even more so than Bush: Blair transformed the Labour Party into a juggernaut and oversaw a 10-year renaissance in Britain. He had further to fall than the American president."

The press release continues, "Perhaps that’s why he’s digging in his heels now. Over the last two months, Blair allowed London Bureau Chief Stryker McGuire extraordinary access to himself and his top aides including several behind-the-scenes interviews at home and abroad. In the February 26 issue of Newsweek and the cover of Newsweek International (on newsstands Monday, February 19), McGuire reports that the leader he encountered was defiant to the point of denial. Again and again, he repeated the central point of his argument: that the war in Iraq is part of the war on terror, and that the war on terror is 'a battle of values and for progress.'

When confronted by the charge that Iraq has been an abject failure, Blair says dismissively, 'You waste your time and energy in that kind of negativity.' Of his 26 percent approval rating, Blair says, 'Provided you think you’re right, you can get through it.'"

"The echoes of Bush are not accidental," the press release continues. "At least since September 11, the two men have been even closer than most people realize. They still speak at least once every couple of weeks."

The senior administration official tells Newsweek, "They are completely comfortable with one another; they practically finish each other’s sentences."

The press release adds, "If anything, the bond has grown tighter as the two leaders have each become more isolated, McGuire reports. In December, just after the Iraq Study Group report had dropped like a bomb on Bush’s desk, Blair was quick to stand by his side. On the flight from London to Washington, Blair toughened up the speech he’d deliver at a joint press conference the next day: he thanked the embattled Bush for 'the clarity of your vision.'"

FULL NEWSWEEK ARTICLE CAN BE READ AT THIS LINK