Tony Blair, Mideast point man ?
June 22nd, 2007 by ashish
Tony Blair is all set to be kicked out of office. In a deal with Gordon Brown, Blair will finally exit the British Prime Minister’s position on June 27th. He is still young, young enough that he will not want to just retire. Well, here is a proposed solution; a just that is very challenging, and totally setup for the person to fail.
The conflict between Israel and the Palestinians is an old conflict, and the closes that they were to a solution was during the final stages of President Clinton’s time, but that solution was not acceptable. There are a few issues that are clear blockers, such as the status of Jerusalem, the right of the Palestinian refugees to return. And the takeover by Hamas of the Gaza strip makes it much more difficult to accomplish any sort of peace solution.
As part of a proposal to apply diplomatic pressure, there is a quartet in place to present a unified front, and with the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations as the members of the quartet, this front packs a strong diplomatic punch. However, in the past, the quartet have not exactly managed to cover themselves in glory with accomplishments in the Mideast, and the plan is for Tony Blair to be the point man of the quartet on this issue.
The White House is talking to Blair about taking up the role for the Mideast Quartet once he steps down as prime minister on June 27, the officials said. The idea, which the officials said is endorsed by President Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, has been discussed with the British government and other members of the Quartet, which comprises the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations.
The last envoy for the Quartet, former World Bank President James Wolfensohn, worked primarily with the Palestinians, focusing on boosting the economy in Gaza following the Israeli withdrawal in 2005. Wolfensohn left his job in frustration in March 2005, claiming the international boycott of the Palestinian government following the January 2005 election of Hamas made it impossible to do his job.
There are some problems with this proposal. Blair is seen to be equally responsible for the Iraq war, and thus for the current horrific state of Iraq currently. In addition, Blair’s previous visits to the region as British Prime Minister have not accomplished much, and hence there is some doubts about whether he will be effective. On the other hand, he does carry significant diplomatic weight (although there is some doubt about whether his successor will listen to him).
Further, the Palestinians and other non-Israeli states in the region are always suspicious of whether somebody seen as close to the Bush administration, and by extension to Israel, will be able to take an even stand.
