Blair invisible as Bush ploughs on

The US is to send a surge of troops to Iraq while Britain has effectively decided to withdraw. One can hardly imagine a bigger divergence in the two countries' approach to the war. Incredibly, Bush still refuses to contemplate the reality of Iraq: that the whole adventure has been a bloody catastrophe which has set a flame under a powder keg and has significantly undermined the credibility of any future western intervention in the region.

If Britain's place in Iraq is drifting to the periphery, the same can be said of its leader, Tony Blair. One suspects that deep down Blair admits that the decision to support the invasion was a grave error which will blight his legacy. He is invisible on Iraq, where he knows he has failed, while his efforts on Northern Ireland are looking more and more like a desperate attempt to gather a few laurels that will brighten up his retirement party.

Ciarán Mac Aonghusa
Churchtown, Dublin 14