[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 10]
[House]
[Pages 14146-14147]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        THE END OF THE BLAIR ERA

  (Mr. STEARNS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. STEARNS. Mr. Speaker, the decision of British Prime Minister Tony 
Blair to resign on June 27th marks the end of an era in U.S.-British 
relationships. Blair's extraordinarily close alliance with President 
Bush has been a major force on the world stage since the terrorist 
attack of September 11, 2001.
  The Prime Minister has been an eloquent and passionate leader in 
confronting global terrorism. He deserves credit for his central role 
in the global war on terrorism and for having the courage to act on his 
convictions in the face of tremendous opposition within his own party 
and from other European governments.
  His steadfast support for the United States in the 4 years since 2001 
and his key role in building the international coalition of the willing 
demonstrated principled leadership as well as vision.
  The strong U.S.-British relationship will certainly endure under 
Blair's successor. However, there is no doubt that this relationship 
was made better because of Tony Blair.

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