'Fahrenheit 9/11' Director Has Blair in Sights

[CShine]

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Michael Moore's anti-Iraq war crusade is not stopping with President Bush as the filmmaker says he now wants to make a movie about British Prime Minister Tony Blair's role in the war. Moore, director of "Fahrenheit 9/11," the controversial documentary which last month won top prize at the Cannes film festival, said on Friday that he now wants to take a close look at the British leader's role in backing the war in Iraq and sending troops into harm's way.

"I personally hold Blair more responsible for this war in Iraq than I do George W. Bush, and the reason is Blair knows better. Blair is not an idiot. What is he doing hanging around this guy?," Moore told Reuters in an interview.

"Fahrenheit 9/11," which will hit U.S. theaters on June 25, looks at links between the family of President Bush and powerful Saudi Arabians, including the family of Osama bin Laden. The film also contends that Bush thrust the United States into a war it did not need to fight through a mix of fear and misinformation.

Britain and Blair have been the staunchest supporters of the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq, but Moore said that in making "Fahrenheit 9/11" he had to choose just exactly what parts of the story on which to focus. He trained his investigative camera on Bush and that, he said, was a hard decision to make.

"I struggled with it because, I think, what I decided is that I need to make a separate film about Blair, at some point here. I need to do something about Blair and Britain."

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