Talking about Eisenhower and the Iraq/Afghan wars, it was really stupid of HM's Govt to involve the UK in the war, just so Blair could show the Americans he was on their side, and to seize his moment in history.

Blair had been too pally with Clinton for the UK's own good and when the USA switched from Democrat to Republican, it had an indirect strain on bilateral relations. Blair wanted to show Bush, that hey, Britain is still your BFF.

When in fact, Eisenhower had provided a historical escape route for Blair and the UK - the Suez Crisis. Eisenhower refused to intervene on the side of the UK and Israel, and clobber Nasser's Egypt. The American refusal doomed the British effort in the Suez and cost Eden his job.

Blair had a chance to invoke this, to say like the Suez crisis, it was an internal American matter in Afghanistan and later Iraq. Britain might provide support on the diplomatic front (in the UN etc) and maybe allow some of its bases to be utilised, but basically that was it.