WASHINGTON, Nov 15: The White House on Wednesday went to great lengths to dispel the impression that it has developed serious differences with Britain, one of its closest allies in the war on terror, over Iraq and rest of the Middle East.
In a major foreign policy speech on Tuesday, British Prime Minister Tony Blair stressed the need to bolster relations with US foes Iran and Syria and to seek their help in restoring peace to war-ravaged Iraq.
As the impact of the British leader’s speech sank in, the White House issued a fact sheet to undo the impression that Mr Blair had struck out from Washington.
White House Press Secretary Tony Snow said that suggestions in the Western media that Mr Blair's remarks signalled cracks between the Bush and Blair administrations were mischaracterisations.
"Read his speech, and you'll see there is no difference between the governments," Mr Snow said.
State Department spokesman Sean McCormack acknowledged Britain and the US had historically slightly differed towards Iran-- but did not see "a particularly new policy statement" in Mr Blair's speech.
Later, the White House placed a fact sheet on its website, pointing out the differences in what Mr Blair said and the media reporting of his speech.
The fact sheet included excerpts from various US newspapers and compared them with reports filed by journalists based in London to show that those in London did not underline the reported differences between the US and British policies towards the Middle East.
On Tuesday, Mr Blair laid out a "whole Middle East strategy" involving a push for a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian crisis, a plan for Iraq and a "strategic" choice of cooperation or isolation to be offered to Iran.
Also on Tuesday, Mr Blair testified by video link-up to the US Iraq Study Group, stressing the need for a "strategic choice" for Iran and Syria.
The US media interpreted his remarks as an attempt to influence US policies at a time when Washington is contemplating changes in its Iraq strategy following the Republican defeat in mid-term elections.
The White House, however, urged critics also to see Mr Blair's comment that "there is a fundamental misunderstanding” that he was attempting to change Western policies on Syria and Iran.
The White House fact sheet compared coverage of Mr Blair's speech by US-based reporters on The New York Times and The Washington Post and their colleagues in London.
London-based reporters for the two US newspapers wrote that Mr Blair took pains to ensure his remarks were not seen as a dramatic new policy shift.
But the fact sheet noted colleagues on the same papers in the US had wrongly seen Mr Blair's speech as a policy shift on Iran and Syria.
"Prime Minister Blair's policy is not new and is similar to President Bush's policy,” said the White House in the fact sheet titled, “Setting the Record Straight”. After Mr Blair's speech, Mr Bush said in a joint appearance with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in Washington that talks with Iran were only possible if Tehran halted its nuclear programme in line with an already stated international initiative.
A Downing Street spokeswoman told reporters on Wednesday that Mr Blair also had told the US Iraq Study Group in the videoconference that any solution in Iraq must be part of a broader Middle East strategy which would also include a plan to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The study group interviewed President Bush, senior members of his Cabinet and senior US generals on Monday in its search for a formula for restoring peace to Iraq.
