POACHER TURNED GAME-KEEPER?

The Palestinian Hamas movement has criticised the appointment of former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair as an international Middle East peace envoy.

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/6247720.stm

 

Comment: Given Tony Blair’s unconditional support for Israel in indiscriminate bombing of Lebanon [killing innocent people  especially innumerable children] and for that dubious Dubya – he is certainly not seen as the ‘honest John [Major]’ who, incidentally, was the initiator of the Northern Ireland [peace process and] Good Friday agreement.

 

Although I am glad to have seen the long feuding parties in Northern Ireland, finally, accept joint governance and peace – its precipitation was not elicited by mutual understanding or empathetic co-operation between ‘sworn enemies’ but by Government coercion in a ‘its now or never’ ultimatum to NI given that Tony had declared his intention to relinquish his premiership. Had they missed or permitted to miss that opportunity – it is anybody’s guess how many more years it might have shelved the NI Peace process and most crucially – whether, in that eventuality, Tony Blair would have had any residual credibility to accept and deliver the responsibilities inherent in this most critical post?

Addenda:

On 28 July 2005: IRA declares end to armed struggle: http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/july/28/newsid_4948000/4948188.stm

Prime Minister Tony Blair said it was a "step of unparalleled magnitude".

"It is what we have striven for and worked for throughout the eight years since the Good Friday[1997] Agreement," he said.

Gordon Brown appoints his own middle-east broker:  http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/6897313.stm

Mr Alexander, newly promoted to the senior role of
Secretary for International Development, made a series of references to
the need for an internationalist approach to world problems and at the
heart of his speech were these two paragraphs:

"We need to demonstrate by our word and our actions that
we are: internationalist not isolationist; multilateralist not
unilateralist; active not passive; and driven by core values
consistently applied, not special interests.

"Isolationism simply does not work in an interdependent
world. There is no security or prosperity at home unless we deal with
the global challenges of security, globalization, climate change,
disease and poverty. We must recognise these challenges and champion an
internationalist approach – seeking shared solutions to the problems we
face."

That was perhaps code for – no more Iraqs. So the signals are clear – British foreign policy is going through a subtle shift. The Blair era is over.

29 July 2007: http://www.salaamshalom.org.uk/ This unique [Salaam Shalom Radio] & first of its kind grass-roots non-political experiment [that exemplifies what the politician we elected ought to have achieved] in UK embracing ‘rational thinking’ and behaviour, within these two communities which were, thus far, at logger heads with each other due to conditioning rather than the fact, is an indication of community cohesion as I saw it, within Northern Ireland & Middle East, based on the concept of panentheism. I wish them god-speed in their august endeavours to deliver what others have clearly failed to do.
http://vyas7.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!47CC3F604E92E3C4!111.entry

Perhaps I need not explain why I felt compelled not to sign the malicious petition on the 10 Downing Street website against the alleged plan to build an alleged mega-mosque in the grounds near the Olympic site.