US president Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair held a joint news conference late Thursday night in Washington, which was characterized all together by a pessimistic somber tone due to what has been said during it.

Bush admitted to the fact that the bloodshed which occurred all over Iraq, ever since the war started, was difficult to understand by the rest of the world, while Blair pointed out that the violence was "ghastly".

The far-reaching costly mistakes they acknowledged included the Iraqi prisoners being abused at Abu Ghraib prison facility, although this issue, according to the president, was put to rest since all those proven guilty, received their rightful punishment.

He also added that during the war, US and Britain started back in 2003, he learnt that what he labeled as "tough talk", like wanting Osama bin Laden "dead or alive" or telling US political enemies to "bring it on", is not lucrative at all since it may cause much diplomatic strife and unwanted consequences. "I learned some lessons about expressing myself maybe in a little more sophisticated manner, you know".

On the other hand, the British Prime Minister was eager to point out that no one was able to predict certain costs this war might inflict on all parties involved, especially with regard to the violent waves of insurgent revolts. "It should have been obvious to us", said Blair, but obviously his remark left many in dismay, with further questions in their head related to the reasons why no one forecast the human and social costs since they were so obvious.

Blair and Bush held a private meeting previously, in which the former talked about his discussions with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who envisioned a total control of the Iraqi security forces over Baghdad in the following 18 months: "I think it's possible to happen in the way that Prime Minister Maliki said. For that to happen, obviously, the first thing that we need is a strong government in Baghdad that is prepared to enforce its writ throughout the country. My very strong feeling, having talked to the leaders there, is that they intend theirs to be such a government".

Blair is due to give a speech at Georgetown University on Friday and lunch with the US president before he leaves for London.