Blaming the messenger

I find it endlessly surprising how totally alike are the responses of Bush and Blair. You would think that, coming from very different backgrounds and playing to very different "bases" they would tackle problems with different tactics, but, no. Blair, just like Bush, is blaming the messenger for the message:

Tony Blair has turned the blame for his disastrous military campaigns in the Middle East on anti-war dissidents and the media.

Warning it would take the West another 20 years to defeat Islamic terrorism, the Prime Minister used a wide-ranging "swansong" lecture on defence to denounce critics and the media who have been a thorn in his side since the invasion of Iraq.

He also dismissed those - including many defence chiefs - who claimed the invasion of Iraq and its aftermath had fuelled insurgents and terrorism.