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Blair and Bush back together again: Ex-PM dismisses 'caricature' of former



Tony Blair will travel to Dallas this week for the opening of a presidential library dedicated to his Iraq War ally George W Bush.

In a sign that the pair’s relationship is as close as ever, the former prime minister will attend the dedication of the institution, based at the Southern Methodist University.

Mr Blair used an interview in the run-up to the event to deliver a fulsome tribute to the ex-president – saying he was a ‘much more rounded person’ than the ‘caricature’ suggests.



Old friends: George W. Bush regularly met with Tony Blair when the two men were in power

The former Labour leader is accused by his critics of being Bush’s ‘poodle’ by agreeing so readily to commit British troops to the US-led invasion of Iraq, which was widely condemned as illegal.

But Mr Blair is unrepentant, saying Thursday’s official opening of the George W Bush Presidential Center could be used to set his presidency into a broader perspective.


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He told the Washington Post: ‘Obviously, it’s a big moment for him. It’s a chance for him to explain that his political philosophy encompasses much more than the decisions he had to take after 9/11.

‘We forget this sometimes. This is a much more rounded person with many more dimensions to him than the caricature often portrays.’



Mr Blair insisted Mr Bush was more 'rounded' than the 'caricature' that is often portrayed





Bush in the bushed: The former President is being honoured with a library at the Southern Methodist University

Mr Blair also spoke up in favour of the Iraq War, which was launched by the two leaders in 2003 after faulty intelligence said Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction.

And he said that Bush had not changed his attitude towards the decisions he had to make in the wake of the September 11 attacks.

He said the former president believed the world was a safer place without Saddam in power.

‘There was never any doubt while he was in office, and there’s not any doubt now,’ said Mr Blair.


‘When you see what is happening in Syria today, the sense of that argument is evident. What it does is just make clear that these decisions are very difficult.

‘If you intervene, it can be very tough. If you don’t intervene, it can also be very tough.’


The George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum, pictured, in Dallas opens to the public on May 1





9/11: A large part of the exhibit is dedicated to the 9/11 terrorist attacks





World Trade Center: Twisted steel beams from the devastated World Trade Center site in New York are displayed in the museum area at the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum in Dallas

Memorabilia: Various campaign memorabilia is shown in the museum area at the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum in Dallas

All the living presidents, including President Barack Obama and Bush's father, George H.W. Bush, plan to attend the museum opening. It will open to the public on May 1.

The museum uses everything from news clips to interactive screens to artifacts to tell the story of Bush's eight years in office.


A container of chads — the remnants of the famous Florida punch cards — is part of an exhibit about the 2000 election, which Bush won after the Supreme Court ordered Florida to stop its recount process more than a month after Election Day.

In the 9/11 display, called the 'Day of Fire,' video images from the attacks flash around a twisted metal beam recovered from the wreckage of the World Trade Center.The exhibit also includes the bullhorn Bush used days later to address a crowd of rescue workers at ground zero: 'I can hear you. The rest of the world hears you. And the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon.'

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