A Greater Britain: A Different Blair Premiership

[Jerseyrules]

Alright guys I'm back.  I was inspired by NickCT' "Liberty's Century" TL on alternatehistory.com, which details an alternate George W. Bush presidency.  I'm not from the UK, so any advice or input would be appreciated.  Upon reading about Tony Blair I've always been fascinated by him, and disappointed that his tenure, most of which was so transformative, became so mired by Iraq.  So I've been thinking about this for a while, and I'm happy to finally be able to pull the trigger after a good deal of research.  Pardon the initial focus on the United States, as I felt this would be the most plausible way to alter the foreign policy of the Blair premiership.  Hope y'all enjoy it!

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It all began on November 7, 2000.

Vice President Gore, after a long and difficult campaign, and a great deal of time and effort spent on winning Ohio and Florida in the closing days of the campaign, had prevailed by a relatively narrow yet decisive margin in the Electoral College (88 electoral votes) and the popular vote (about 650,000 votes).

Vice President Al Gore / Senator Joe Lieberman (D): 48.5% PV, 313 EV
Governor George W. Bush / Fmr. Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney (R): 47.8% PV, 225 EV

The election of Vice President Al Gore, some would later say, had ripple effects felt throughout the world, though these effects would not be felt until late 2001; until then, everything would be business as usual...

[Jerseyrules]

On July 18, 2001, newly-inaugurated President Gore would make his first visit to the United Kingdom, where he met for the first time with Prime Minister Tony Blair and Queen Elizabeth II.  The affair was largely for publicity, with each affirming his commitment to preserving the Special Relationship.

The first true test of this relationship came on September 11, 2001.  Immediately following the attack, Prime Minister Blair made a statement affirming "The United States has no truer friend than Great Britain.  Blair then made several phone calls with Gore, where they hashed out a strategy for a global "War on Terrorism."

President Gore meets with Prime Minister Blair

On September 20, President Gore spoke to a joint session of Congress where he announced his plan to address the United Nations General Assembly and call for a unified global effort in the fight to combat terrorism.  Citing the previous successes in arresting those responsible for the African embassy bombings in 1998 and the current trial of Slobodan Milosevic, the American President assured the American people that "through global action and partnership, we can these criminals to justice."

On September 21, Prime Minister Tony Blair made a similar statement to the House of Commons, assuring the United Kingdom "these terrorists shall be dealt with by international cooperation and global efforts.  We must work together with our allies in order to bring them to justice."  He also stated his intention to work to ensure the World Court would pressure the Taliban regime to arrest Osama Bin Ladin and bring him before the Hague.

On September 24, Gore and Blair speak to the UN General Assemby, urging the World Court to press the Taliban government to turn over Osama Bin Ladin for trial.  A great outpouring of international support followed, and it appeared that a line had been drawn in the sand, and leaders around the world sat on pins and needles awaiting a response from the Afghani government.

Prime Minister Blair urges the international community to unite in the fight against terrorism

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

Very interesting! I shall be following .

[Jerseyrules]

On September 26, the United Nations Security Council voted unanimously to support a resolution that Afghanistan hand over Osama Bin Ladin.  However, the Taliban government continued to refuse to do so, ignoring international pleas to do so and repeatedly snubbing nations that made diplomatic overtures, including Iran, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia.  By October 2, Prime Minister Blair, supported by President Gore, spoke before the Security Council, urging UN intervention in Afghanistan under Charter Article 25 following Taliban refusal to comply with the previous resolution after "a host of opportunities to do so."  After receiving support from Chinese President Hu Jintao, Russian President Vladimir Putin, German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, and French President Jacques Chirac, though some partners were more willing than others, a "coalition of the willing" akin to the Gulf War coalition was assembled to "root out and destroy Al Qaeda in Afghanistan, and bring Osama Bin Ladin to justice."

Behind the scenes, political leaders and generals met to discuss the details of the intervention.  It was agreed that some nations would provide logistical support and supplies, while others, including the British and Americans, would provide ground support.  The French would provide air support but refused to commit to ground troops.  Though not quite what President Gore and the Prime Minister had hoped, it was definitely more than what either had expected in terms of global support, with troops coming from Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and more, and Russia providing logistical support in the effort.  Gore would later credit Blair in his autobiography with touring the international community to rally support for the war effort, as Blair would "trip far fewer alarm bells," and be able to avoid the cumbersome burden of secret service detail, etc. that travel of the American President would necessitate.  Though Gore would be the face of the war effort, Blair was the architect that had made it possible.