LONDON -- Commentators on both sides of the Atlantic have been raising the possibility of a split between Britain and America on the handling of Middle Eastern affairs.
If this is really occurring, it would of course be a very serious blow to the United States and to President George W. Bush, personally. Britain has been much the most loyal and robust of his European allies.
If the split is supposed to be between Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair, then the analysis is plain wrong. The two leaders remain locked together in the conviction that they are engaged in "a historic struggle" ( Blair's words) to carry freedom and democracy to the turbulent Arab world and that this is America's and Britain's mission (Bush's phrase).