Pressure is mounting on former British Prime Minister Tony Blair to step down from his role as Middle East Peace Envoy. Blair is facing the music following the scathing letter signed by former British ambassadors and politicians accusing him of trying to absolve himself of the responsibility for the current Iraq crisis.
The letter, with signatories including Blair’s former ambassador to Iran Richard Dalton and former London Mayor Ken Livingstone, comes weeks after Blair published an article in which he claimed that the 2003 invasion was not to be blamed for the current crisis.
But the letter rejects this, saying “We believe that Mr. Blair, as a vociferous advocate of the invasion, must accept a degree of responsibility for its consequences.” The letter, addressed to foreign ministers of the United States, Russia and the EU as well as UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, adds that the former prime minister’s achievements as Middle East Envoy are negligible.
It appears as if the appointment of a neocon in the person of Blair as the Mideast envoy was deliberate so as to ensure that nothing happens in the Middle East that may work against the interests of the neocons and their corporate cronies. That way, perhaps, the powers that be wanted to appease bankers and arms industry.
Will we ever see Blair in The Hague, charged for war crime? — S.H. Moulana, Riyadh
Blair and war crimes
