Lance Price: Don't blame Tony Blair for talking to a tyrant
[Lance Price is an author and political commentator. He is a former BBC correspondent and media adviser in 10 Downing Street.]
or a man who has grown used to deflecting unwelcome questions, Tony Blair looked desperately uncomfortable as he sought to give the fewest possible details of his recent calls to Muammar Gaddafi. His evident discomfort was understandable. Despite his reluctance to accept responsibility for many of the consequences of his decisions in office, Blair hasn't lost his instinctive feel for public opinion.
It is one thing for the former prime minister to laugh off the criticism he's received – "that's a change", he said – but quite another to ignore the consequences for future diplomacy in the Arab world and elsewhere.
His relationship with the man to whom he once offered "the hand of friendship" calls into question two of the fundamental bases of his foreign policy. The first, that any ally in the fight against global terrorism deserves support, looks preposterous when they unleash terror against their own people. The second, that hugging leaders close even when you may disagree with them increases your private influence, seems naive and unprincipled.
It is easy to mock Blair's faith in his own powers of persuasion. He tells us Gaddafi was "in denial", which presumably means he didn't agree with the advice that his time was up. Did he expect Gaddafi to react differently, to go gracefully once he knew even Blair would no longer defend him? Of course not. Was it right to make the call? Yes it was...
Read entire article at Guardian (UK)
or a man who has grown used to deflecting unwelcome questions, Tony Blair looked desperately uncomfortable as he sought to give the fewest possible details of his recent calls to Muammar Gaddafi. His evident discomfort was understandable. Despite his reluctance to accept responsibility for many of the consequences of his decisions in office, Blair hasn't lost his instinctive feel for public opinion.
It is one thing for the former prime minister to laugh off the criticism he's received – "that's a change", he said – but quite another to ignore the consequences for future diplomacy in the Arab world and elsewhere.
His relationship with the man to whom he once offered "the hand of friendship" calls into question two of the fundamental bases of his foreign policy. The first, that any ally in the fight against global terrorism deserves support, looks preposterous when they unleash terror against their own people. The second, that hugging leaders close even when you may disagree with them increases your private influence, seems naive and unprincipled.
It is easy to mock Blair's faith in his own powers of persuasion. He tells us Gaddafi was "in denial", which presumably means he didn't agree with the advice that his time was up. Did he expect Gaddafi to react differently, to go gracefully once he knew even Blair would no longer defend him? Of course not. Was it right to make the call? Yes it was...