And, years from now, the world will look back and two giants will stand out.
– Two men who were unfaltering in purpose and mission.
– Two men and their allies who took out two of the most evil regimes in history.
– Two men who, under incredible duress and constant abuse, freed 50,000,000 million suffering people, built democracies, and made the world more safe.
U.S. President George W. Bush (L) and British Prime Minister Tony Blair walk from their final press conference together in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, May 17, 2007. Bush hosted outgoing Prime Minister Blair at a farewell summit on Thursday, with the two unlikely allies united to the end in their commitment to an Iraq war that is unpopular in both countries. (REUTERS/Jason Reed)
The White House has the final press Joint Press Availability with President Bush and Prime Minister Blair posted.
PRIME MINISTER BLAIR: Well, thank you very much, Mr. President, and thank you, as ever, for the kindness and graciousness of your welcome to me here at the White House. And thank you also for the strength of your leadership over the past few years. You have been a strong leader at a time when the world needed strong leadership. You’ve been unyielding and unflinching, and determined in the fight that we face together. And I thank you for that.
And I also would take this opportunity of saying that I believe that the relationship between the United States of America and Britain is a relationship that is in the interests of our two countries and in the interests of the peace and stability of the wider world. And sometimes it’s a controversial relationship — at least over in my country. But I’ve never doubted its importance. I’ve never doubted that it’s based on principle, on shared values, and on a shared purpose, which is to make our world a better, more free, more just place in which people of all nations and all faiths can live.
So I would like to thank you for the strength also of that relationship over these past few years.
