The former president ripped British Prime Minister Tony Blair, saying his lack of leadership and timid subservience to President Bush lie behind the ongoing crisis in Iraq and the worldwide threat of terrorism.

"I have been surprised and extremely disappointed by Tony Blair's behavior," Carter told Britain's Sunday Telegraph newspaper.

"I think that more than any other person in the world, the prime minister could have had a moderating influence on Washington - and he has not. I really thought that Tony Blair, who I know personally to some degree, would be a constraint on President Bush's policies towards Iraq."...