UK Prime Minister Tony Blair and US President George W Bush have made a stark public acknowledgement that they made mistakes in Iraq.

Mr Bush said the biggest US error was the prison abuse scandal in Abu Ghraib, which it was now paying for.

 

The two leaders have never admitted their mistakes in such frank terms, the BBC's Jonathan Beale says.

 

They also called for the international community to give its full support to the new Iraqi government.

 

In a Washington news conference, the British prime minister said it was important to Iraq's leaders to know that "we will stand firm with them" against "terrorism and violence".

 

The talks in Washington also focused on Iran, with Mr Bush offering rewards for Tehran if it ends uranium enrichment.

 

Both men have seen their popularity drop and are keen to ensure a positive legacy as their terms draw to a close, correspondents say.

 

BBC diplomatic correspondent Jonathan Marcus says Iraq has cast a shadow over the leaders' careers and both were seeking to play up the potential for change afforded by the new democratically-elected government in Baghdad.

 

Asked about mistakes in Iraq, Mr Bush brought up the prisoner abuse scandal at Baghdad's Abu Ghraib prison.

 

"We've been paying for that for a long period of time," he said.

 

He also said he regretted having used unsophisticated language such as "Wanted dead or alive", which had been misinterpreted in some parts of the world.

 

The BBC's Jonathan Beale in Washington says the US president was full of introspection after frequently being criticised for lacking powers of self-analysis.

 

Mr Blair, who held talks with new Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki in Baghdad this week, was also prepared to acknowledge errors, accepting that the exclusion of all of Saddam Hussein's Baath party members from leadership roles may have only fuelled the insurgency.

 

But both men remained convinced that they had done the right thing in Iraq.

 

Mr Blair, said: "I came away thinking the challenge is still immense, but I also came away thinking more certain than ever that we should rise to it."

 

That challenge, he said, was "daunting... but inspiring".

 

Whatever people's misgivings about the 2003 invasion of Iraq, he said, "our duty, but also the duty of the whole international community, is to get behind this government and support it".

 

However, neither man would set a timetable for the withdrawal of troops from Iraq.

 

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/5016548.stm

admitting the smaller mistakes is easier

admitting the smaller mistakes is easier

 

Well put!:thumbsup:

Im glad they did. they made alot of errors.

They have been making errors constantly.... its to late... we all doomed under the present bush-blair regime ... and when bushes time comes to a end, there is going to be no turning back...

Fair enough, but as a soldier who has been to Iraq twice I've seen the state of the country first hand. I know in the long run it's all about the oil but no matter how you look at it. Saddam needed to go, and we did that. I think that were obliged to stay in that country untill it has a fully functioning government. If not then they'll just be straight back to square one.

I saw this in news! and it was related to the terrible murder soilders did to many innicent Iraquis! :angry: :angry: all in the eyes of a little girl and his brother, they lost their family in hands of fucking american soldiers.

 

Who knows how many other crimes like this are being covered by the custome of the war agaisn't terrorism as Bush and his allies call it. The United nations inform can denounce all this but who the fuck is going to make something about it?????????????

I saw this in news! and it was related to the terrible murder soilders did to many innicent Iraquis! :angry: :angry: all in the eyes of a little girl and his brother, they lost their family in hands of fucking american soldiers.

 

Who knows how many other crimes like this are being covered by the custome of the war agaisn't terrorism as Bush and his allies call it. The United nations inform can denounce all this but who the fuck is going to make something about it?????????????

 

I totally agree with you, we need actions not words

Im glad they did. they made alot of errors.

 

 

are you shitting me??? You've been supporting the Pres. since day one.. and claimed he did nothing wrong but act on erroneous intel..... :rolleyes:

 

 

bandwagoner!

Fair enough' date=' but as a soldier who has been to Iraq twice I've seen the state of the country first hand. I know in the long run it's all about the oil but no matter how you look at it. Saddam needed to go, and we did that. I think that were obliged to stay in that country untill it has a fully functioning government. If not then they'll just be straight back to square one.[/quote']

 

As sad as it seems though.... iraq is a long way from that stage... they are used to people in taking the lead... give people a choice sometimes they cant cope.

 

How long it take for the US to stop having civils wars ? over a 100 years I guess.

 

How long did it take for the UK to have a democrat state.. ? over a 1000 years...

 

who are we to tell and make other people conform to other ways of living.

 

I think bush... and blair need to be more open minded to other cultures... and ways of life...

As they say...

 

Hindsight is 20/20.

How long it take for the US to stop having civils wars ? over a 100 years I guess.

 

Woah...I didn't know we were in a civil war...