Oh, those British

I found an interesting quote in this article about Tony Blair's turkee moment in Iraq:

"We stand on the side of the democrats against the terrorists ... Whatever people felt about the original conflict, we the British aren't a nation of quitters...."

See, that's interesting. And, in fact, this whole story, unless I am mistaken, is looking like yet another rerun of the past. Of 1920.
I really don't know enough of my history to say, but I see in the future of Iraq some quitting on the part of both British and Americans that will be given some sort of figleaf, such that our largely Anglophone coalition will walk away confident that no quitting was done, and the Iraqis, though they will not in any real sense be free, can believe that the invaders have been beaten back.
Mostly I'm struck by how much Blair is like Bush. Reuters, in a fawning tone generally associated with state-run media and Fox News, informs us that the central Green Zone, where Blair stayed, is a favorite of insurgents. But it's the Green Zone! The best fortified area in the entire country! If Blair can't feel safe there, there is no feeling safe in Iraq. But back to the meat of it- the pre-Iraq Tony Blair of liberal Americans' imagination was a bright, articulate statesman who wouldn't be caught dead conducting swaggering macho photo ops and meaninglessly harping on staying the course. How startling to find he's just another idiot politician.