Though Tony Blair scored some points in his first term as the prime minister of the United Kingdom, the blunders committed by him in the second term left him no choice but to quit before things got worse. A number of political analysts attributed Blair’s unhappy exit to his involvement in an unjustified Iraq war. US President George Bush was eager to provide Blair with a job as a mark of gratitude to his loyal services to the US administration. However, Bush was careful not to give him a strategically crucial and respectable post as the presidency of the World Bank, which fell vacant with the humiliating exit of Paul Wolfowitz. On the other hand, Blair was offered a rather harmless but difficult position of the representative of the Middle East Quartet for peace.
Blair’s duties as a peacemaker have been defined as organizing international assistance for the Palestinians, coordinating with the countries that grant aid to the starving region.
The appointment, apparently, evoked a mixed reaction among Arabs. While some Arab countries disapproved of the idea, the others responded with some reservations. Still there are some Arabs who wonder how Britain, which opened a Pandora’s box in the Middle East with its notorious Balfour Declaration, could be taken as an honest broker.
However Blair has been striving to win Arab confidence from the moment he was offered the new job. In a bid to placate the Palestinians, he declared that he supported the idea of two nations of Israel and Palestine living side by side. He hopes that such statements would win back the Arab confidence.
But the statement only made him more unpopular in the Arab world that is only too aware of his role as the main supporter of the Iraq invasion. Arabs also remember his refusal to call for a cease-fire in Lebanon when that country was under attack from Israel. He is also seen as a staunch supporter of the US policies aimed at starving and dividing the Palestinians with a view to breaking their freedom struggle.
If he is serious about bringing peace to the Middle East, all Blair needs to do is to try the Northern Ireland experiment in Palestine. This means he would have to start serious talks with the Hamas in Palestine and Hezbollah in Lebanon though the move may displease Israel. Without the involvement of these two parties the peace efforts would, undoubtedly, be a waste of time. The Quartet could be convinced that the dialogue with Hamas is essential because no independent Palestinian state could be established without the participation of the Hamas, which is an indivisible part of the Palestinian politics. It could also pointed out that no secure border between Lebanon and Israel could be drawn without the Hezbollah.
Israel may oppose the talks with the Hamas or Hezbollah but if Blair genuinely seeks an acceptable settlement of the Palestinian and Lebanese issues, then he will have to be in speaking terms with them. Either way, he will have to face the virulent Zionist criticism.
However, the Quartet has been adamant in not recognizing the election victory of Hamas though the elections were free and fair as admitted even by several international observers. The elections were held as demanded by the West but its sudden turn-around convinced the Palestinians of the Western prejudice and hypocrisy. However the West’s unreasonable policies have only added to the popularity of the Hamas.
Blair should have learned from his Northern Ireland experience that no amount of force will crush and wipe out a national movement and, more significantly, at the end there would have no choice but to deal with them in a reasonable manner.
The task is not an easy one, but not impossible altogether. However there are some political analysts who take a pessimistic view of the whole peace process. They believe that every one of the past events in the peace process has only served the Israeli interests.
The Israeli goals could be achieved only with an atmosphere of war and endless tensions in the region. That is why Israel scuttles every serious effort to bring peace to the region. I wonder if Blair has the courage to risk the displeasure of the Zionists and their smear campaign to destroy him in his efforts to achieve a just and lasting peace.
