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Last update - 08:05 05/07/2007
Blair go home
By Gideon Levy

British manners and our own hospitality require us to welcome the Quartet's new special envoy to the Middle East politely. The fact that he is an impressive, charming and charismatic person makes this easier.

The image of Tony Blair sitting at the iron tables in the American Colony's stylized garden sipping afternoon tea with Cherie and their four children delights the imagination.

To these advantages we must add our deep appreciation of the man who brought peace to Northern Ireland, and now, upon retiring from No. 10 Downing Street, instead of going into private business has decided to help us and our neighbors. Such a senior figure is coming to Jerusalem. What can we say? Greetings.
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But when the initial enthusiasm dies down, the high-level visitor should also be told: Go home, you are not the right man in the right place at the right time. Don't waste your valuable time and throw away your expectations, as they are bound to be disappointed. The attempt to lower expectations by saying Blair would deal only with "building institutions" in the Palestinian Authority and in economic matters changes nothing. His mission is doomed to failure.

First, history. For the past 60 years envoys have been visiting these parts. None of them has brought peace. They all went home bitter and frustrated, one was murdered. Since the first, Count Folke Bernadotte, to the last, James Wolfensohn, through Gunnar Jarring and others & they all came with good intentions and left empty-handed. There is no reason to think Blair would fare any differently.
Blair's record does not work to his advantage. His historic triumph in Northern Ireland will not help the "Bush poodle." Whether poodle or Doberman, Blair has been marked as a lackey of the United States in Europe and in sending British troops to fight alongside American soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq.

George Bush's international failures are also Blair's. Blair's beguiling smile cannot mitigate his responsibility for the state of the world and for the pointless bloodshed fanned by the fatal Bush-Blair duo. Just as nobody would dream of expecting Bush, who is obstinately preventing any progress with Syria, to act for peace in the Middle East, nobody would expect his all too loyal ally to do so. Would it occur to anyone to appoint Bush, on his retirement, as an envoy of the Quartet? Of course not. The same goes for his partner.

Blair cannot be an honest broker. Official Israel can be pleased with his appointment, but this is not enough. The man who was an active partner to the policy of boycotting the Palestinian unity government, which was established after democratic elections - a boycott that contributed to the military coup in Gaza - is not beginning his mission with clean hands. A man who does not intend to have any contact with Hamas cannot make peace.

Nor can the declared, more modest goal of his mission - building institutions in the Palestinian Authority - be achieved while boycotting the representatives of half of the Palestinian nation. Peace, Mr. Prime Minister, is made with bitter enemies, like the Irish Republican Army in Northern Ireland, and Hamas, not only with amiable people who speak fluent English like Abu Mazen and Ehud Olmert. Boycotting the others in advance eliminates any chance for peace before you've even started.
But Blair is on his way, and we must open a window for hope: perhaps staying here will change his mind. Perhaps he will discover during the time he spends here that the Israeli occupation is more brutal than he believed, that the only key to peace is in ending the occupation, that an authority under occupation has no real institutions and that he must talk to everyone, even Hamas.

Maybe then Blair will use his international status and connections in Washington to establish a truly just peace. If this happens, we will gladly apologize for the impolite headline of this article.
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  1.   Arma Virumque Cano 08:13  |  Rowan Berkeley 05/07/07
  2.   BLAIR IS NOTHING BUT FAILURE 08:23  |  indrajaya 05/07/07
  3.   ANOTHER DAY ANOTHER MID EAST PEACE MAKER 08:25  |  paul harris 05/07/07
  4.   My admiration 08:31  |  Big 05/07/07
  5.   Political suicide 08:38  |  yaron Zohar 05/07/07
  6.   Give Blair a fair chance 08:49  |  Esther 05/07/07
  7.   Bah... anyone who tries meditating in ME is doomed to fail 09:03  |  Michael 05/07/07
  8.   He has a good chance of success 09:11  |  Ben 05/07/07
  9.   Hope blair reads this one 09:21  |  Charles 05/07/07
  10.   The test will be who Blair insists on meeting 09:21  |  Clickfool 05/07/07
  11.   Don`t waste time.... 09:25  |  Benny 05/07/07
  12.   #2 Indra 09:40  |  Chiang KS 05/07/07
  13.   The arabs and the Jews ... 09:48  |  Hassan Halim 05/07/07
  14.   Of course Blair is doomed to fail 09:50  |  Natallie Durson 05/07/07
  15.   Indrajaya"FAILURE"?Care to compare Indonesia&Britain under Blair 09:51  |  PETER SM 05/07/07
  16.   I agree fully with the author 09:52  |  always disappointed 05/07/07
  17.   Gideon Levy, You couldn`t be more right in your thinking.... 10:05  |  Dutch 05/07/07
  18.   THIS IS NOT GOING TO WORK 10:15  |  indrajaya 05/07/07
  19.   For Natallie Durson #14 10:22  |  Clickfool 05/07/07
  20.   # 12, CHIANG KS 10:22  |  indrajaya 05/07/07
  21.   # 12, CHIANG KS 10:25  |  indrajaya 05/07/07
  22.   # 15, PETER SM 10:30  |  indrajaya 05/07/07
  23.   # 15, PETER SM 10:30  |  indrajaya 05/07/07
  24.   Levy`s friendly frankness applies also to his countrymen in power 10:38  |  Ivar 05/07/07
  25.   Peace in our time? 10:49  |  Mike Fish 05/07/07
  26.   Ofcourse,Blair is bound to fail for all the reasons that Gideon 11:06  |  lakshmi 05/07/07
  27.   @17 Dutch: You are wrong Doris! We suport Blair! He is our hope! 11:09  |  FreedomLoving People 05/07/07
  28.   what Blair cannot do 12:21  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 05/07/07
  29.   Gideon Levy, supporter of Hamas 12:45  |  Jane Bennet 05/07/07
  30.   What are "British Manners"?-you are living in the past 12:52  |  Alan 05/07/07
  31.   For Jane Bennett 13:17  |  by gum 05/07/07
  32.   Blair Go Home 13:33  |  Samir 05/07/07
  33.   It depends how much Blair wants peace 13:39  |  Michael 05/07/07
  34.   For the 1st time Gideon is partly right 13:45  |  rich 05/07/07
  35.   indrajaya, why Blair will succeed. A Must Read. 13:51  |  David Stoler 05/07/07
  36.   Samir # 32 14:04  |  Gil J. Yashar 05/07/07
  37.   THE NORTHERN IRELAND LIE 14:11  |  Ian 05/07/07
  38.   YOU SIMPLY DON`T UNDERSTAND BLAIR 14:22  |  Ian 05/07/07
  39.   # 35, DAVID STOLER 14:23  |  indrajaya 05/07/07
  40.   Ivar 15:06  |  rich 05/07/07
  41.   Dutch,Hannah,Maureen Ann and the International Brigade,an article 15:11  |  lakshmi 05/07/07
  42.   He should set up HQ in Hebron 15:13  |  James Carragher 05/07/07
  43.   "Ending the occupation" 15:27  |  Gerrit 05/07/07
  44.   TONY JOINT NIKOLAI WAY ! 15:32  |  UE ERA BEGIN !!! 05/07/07
  45.   Blair 15:37  |  Martin 05/07/07
  46.   This Mission Was Never Meant to Succeed 15:53  |  Yaakov Sullivan 05/07/07
  47.   To Ian in the UK 15:57  |  Klaudia 05/07/07
  48.   "occupation" 16:08  |  Murray 05/07/07
  49.   Define `fail`? 16:11  |  Mark Lincoln 05/07/07
  50.   Build Israel. Peace will come in it`s own good time. 16:20  |  Chaim 05/07/07
  51.   Insight 16:53  |  Baz Mann 05/07/07
  52.   Indrajaya you dont know what you talking about 16:54  |  zebulonguy 05/07/07
  53.   Blair did not bring peace to northern Ireland. It was 9/11 16:59  |  N. Shaki 05/07/07
  54.   Ariel Sharon is a friend to Blair 17:12  |  Rachel C. 05/07/07
  55.   Rich, the only check on Islamic terrorism is state secularism 17:14  |  Ivar 05/07/07
  56.   Ian you are paranoid mate! 17:19  |  N.Shaki 05/07/07
  57.   Rowan #1 17:21  |  Polybios 05/07/07
  58.   indrajaya - David Stoler 17:28  |  Craig F 05/07/07
  59.   Gerrit #43 - you get it 17:30  |  Poybios 05/07/07
  60.   #46 YAAKOV FROM 42ND STREET AGAIN 17:36  |  paul harris 05/07/07
  61.   Blunderous Blair 17:44  |  Chaim Gorenstein 05/07/07
  62.   #41 lakshmi, undermining democvracy 18:02  |  Dutch 05/07/07
  63.   N. Shaki 50 good post! 18:05  |  Michael 05/07/07
  64.   To Gideon Levy 18:15  |  Jesper Bern 05/07/07
  65.   Ivar #51 18:36  |  Polybios 05/07/07
  66.   Gideon - It makes me cry 18:39  |  Just Curious 05/07/07
  67.   Hey, Gidi, long time no talk.... 18:47  |  misha 05/07/07
  68.   N. Shaki proves US created Israeli Apartheid hothouse 19:11  |  Ivar 05/07/07
  69.   Blair must not listen to G Levy 19:11  |  Yehoshua ben Aharone 05/07/07
  70.   58Dutch,so true,and Joseph Massad has an excellent article 19:13  |  lakshmi 05/07/07
  71.   #14 - You are as bad as the occupiers 19:16  |  Farid 05/07/07
  72.   Ivar 19:26  |  rich 05/07/07
  73.