Brown Sends Mixed Signals in Talks with Bush

On his first US visit as PM, Gordon Brown today reaffirmed that the US and the UK stand together in the war on terrorism. Wrapping up 2 days of meetings with President Bush, Brown expressed disappointment with progress in Iraq, CNN reports, specifically noting difficulty "getting political reconciliation within Iraq" and the slow progress toward reconstruction.

Bush took a personal approach at a joint press conference at Camp David, the Guardian reports, while Brown was more standoffish. He raised the possibility of redeploying UK troops in Basra in an "overwatch"role. In an op-ed in today's Washington Post, the PM steered clear of the hot-button phrase "war on terror" and referred instead to the "war against humanity."