Poor Tony Blair. He got out of office but only just before the mob showed up with tar and feathers. Then his real boss, George w. hisself, comes up with the brainwave to have Blair appointed "special envoy" to represent the UN, the US, the EU and Russia, in trying to sort out Middle Eastern problems, particularly the Palestinian dilemma.
The only bunch who don't seem to be buying the Blair thing are the Arabs themselves. From The Guardian:
Israel is delighted he is getting involved but Arab reactions range from sceptical to openly hostile. "George Bush wanted to reward Blair for his hostility to the Arabs," said Galal Nassar in Egypt's Al-Ahram Weekly. "In backing Bush's nominee the Quartet has endorsed a disastrous choice." Columnist Rami Khouri wrote in Beirut's Daily Star: "If there is an award for the combined negative credibility of an institution plus an individual, the Quartet and Blair should be its first recipients. Appointing Tony Blair as special envoy for Arab-Israeli peace is something like appointing the Emperor Nero to be the chief fireman of Rome."
2 comments:
It's easy to understand that Arabs themselves don't trust Tony Blair, because of his foreign policy in the Middle East. However, without blindly giving my support to Blair, I wish that he can learn from his mistakes and convince Arabs to make a dialogue.
An effective envoy must have the respect and trust of both sides. Tony Blair's record deprives him of those qualities. I don't think he's trustworthy, not a bit. The man can't even acknowledge the horrible blunder he made by following Bush into Iraq. To the contrary, Blair still tries to justify that idiocy. That's not the sort of person that any Arab could respect or trust.
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