The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #103429 Message #2107608
Posted By: Joe Offer
20-Jul-07 - 10:20 AM
Thread Name: Is Blair the right choice as peace envoy
Subject: RE: Is Blair the right choice as peace envoy
Well, from this side of the pond, Tony Blair is viewed as a moderate - friendly to Bush, but at least not a mindless war hawk. If there is to be peace without chaos in the Middle East, it can't be achieved by somebody with a "take no prisoners" or "my way or the highway" approach. We need some real creativity in the Middle East. We need somebody who can listen to both sides and find the elusive middle path. If we disregard the Middle East, there will be continued chaos and terrorism all over the world. If we use warfare again, we'll have another Iraq. I think Blair has the creativity and diplomacy for the job, despite the fact that he has lost his popularity in the UK. I've been reading a bood called God's Politics: Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn't Get It, by Jim Wallis, founder of the Sojourners lobbying group. Before the Iraq war, Wallis and other church leaders met with Blair to try to find an alternative to war. They came up with this six-point plan. It doesn't satisfy my pacifist ideals completely, but it seems workable. Too bad Bush and Blair didn't accept it. When Wallis tried to meet with Bush a few days before the invasion, he was told that the issue was no longer open to discussion. Anyhow, it's time for new thinking. Somehow, we have to get away from absolutes and come up with workable compromises. I think Blair can do that. -Joe Offer-