A modest proposal

Tony Blair is not in an enviable position. He went from being one of the most popular prime ministers of modern times (except within his own party, perhaps), to being someone who was tolerated merely for not being a Conservative with a large C. His Middle East adventure lost him more popularity even before the war started, and now, with no Weapons of Mass Destruction to be seen and allegations that the government "sexed up" intelligence reports, the only thing that could restore the famous Blair charisma would be for him to die in a car crash while fleeing paparazzi.

Charles Taylor, however, is in an even worse posisition. Forget back-bench rebellions, there is an army baying for his blood and he is wanted for crimes against humanity. Unlike Iraq, the Liberian people are begging for the Americans to come in. Why not, then, take a few British and American troops from the Gulf and send them to Liberia, and put Tony Blair in charge? African-style government might suit Blair better than the petty sniping and legal trivialities of the British parliamentary system. He would certainly do a better job than Taylor, and would probably be more popular with the Liberian people than he is with the British. "New Liberia" - it has a certain ring to it.