Blair's Chutzpah
At his 10 September press conference with Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, British Prime Minister Tony Blair was asked to comment on Israel's "collective punishment" of the Palestinian population in Gaza. Israel's continuing military attacks on the Gaza strip have killed 197 civilians, including 48 minors. Its economic blockade has caused Gaza's children "to face extreme hardship and suffering" in what could soon become "a public health disaster" according to Save the Children.
Blair's response was that "there are two ways you can approach the issue of building peace: you can do grandstanding or you can try and get there. From my perspective the most important thing is not that I start allocating blame, but that I try to do what I can to help."
A few weeks ago Israel escalated a border skirmish with Hezbollah into what Middle East scholar Juan Cole described as “total war on the Lebanese civilian population”.
Did Blair eschew "grandstanding" and "allocating blame" in the interests of "building peace"? Here's what he said at his press conference on 3 August 2006 when quizzed on his government's efforts to block calls for an immediate ceasefire:
"the reason why this problem has arisen is that in defiance of previous UN Resolutions, Hezbollah has continued to operate with their militia outside the control of the government of Lebanon down in the south of Lebanon. That is why they then began these rocket attacks and the attacks on Israeli soldiers when they crossed the UN Blue Line and that is when Israel then retaliated"
Clearly it is not always straightforward, even for a moral visonary like the Prime Minister, to float serenely above events, refusing to indulge in the petty politics of the blame game. In some cases - namely the crimes of our enemies - severe condemnation is called for, with moral responsibilities clearly identified. In other cases - namely the more serious crimes of our allies - weasel words and false piety will suffice.
Blair's response was that "there are two ways you can approach the issue of building peace: you can do grandstanding or you can try and get there. From my perspective the most important thing is not that I start allocating blame, but that I try to do what I can to help."
A few weeks ago Israel escalated a border skirmish with Hezbollah into what Middle East scholar Juan Cole described as “total war on the Lebanese civilian population”.
Did Blair eschew "grandstanding" and "allocating blame" in the interests of "building peace"? Here's what he said at his press conference on 3 August 2006 when quizzed on his government's efforts to block calls for an immediate ceasefire:
"the reason why this problem has arisen is that in defiance of previous UN Resolutions, Hezbollah has continued to operate with their militia outside the control of the government of Lebanon down in the south of Lebanon. That is why they then began these rocket attacks and the attacks on Israeli soldiers when they crossed the UN Blue Line and that is when Israel then retaliated"
Clearly it is not always straightforward, even for a moral visonary like the Prime Minister, to float serenely above events, refusing to indulge in the petty politics of the blame game. In some cases - namely the crimes of our enemies - severe condemnation is called for, with moral responsibilities clearly identified. In other cases - namely the more serious crimes of our allies - weasel words and false piety will suffice.
see also:
The Guardian
Asia Times
Labels: Blair
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