"Blair enlists Thatcher for advice on war"

[Carl Remick]

Dog-bites-man news, I suppose.  Anyway, this is from Sunday's UK
Telgraph:

Tony Blair has called in Lady Thatcher to advise him on the Kosovo
conflict and how to keep Nato united against Slobodan Milosevic. Her
support is believed to have been a key factor in Mr Blair's hawkish
stance on Kosovo at the Washington Nato summit this weekend. 

Lady Thatcher has discussed war strategy with the Prime Minister in a
series of telephone calls, some lasting as long as 30 minutes, all of
which were initiated by Downing Street. She emphasised the importance of
Britain taking a lead and of "stiffening the spine" of the Americans, in
a similar fashion to the moment in the Gulf war when she chided George
Bush for going "wobbly". 
Mr Blair's official spokesman last night confirmed that there had been
contact with Lady Thatcher, saying she had told the Prime Minister that
it was "important to do the right thing". 

The employment of the Falklands War leader as an unofficial Downing
Street adviser has been a feature of Mr Blair's premiership. He has
previously expressed his admiration for her leadership on the world
stage. 

Lady Thatcher was invited into Downing Street for one-on-one talks with
Mr Blair within weeks of Labour's election victory in May 1997. She was
also consulted in November of that year, shortly before the Government
became involved in military action for the first time when it ordered an
aircraft carrier to the Gulf. 

[end of excerpt]

Carl Remick