Tony Blair Speaks at Tufts on Future of Middle East
F
ormer British Prime Minister Tony Blair and the current Representative of the Middle East Diplomatic Quartet gave an eloquent speech at Tufts University on the future of the Middle East and international security.
The speech was part of Tufts University’s distinguished Fares Lecture series sponsored by The Fares Center for Eastern Mediterranean Studies. The lecture series brings some of the most important figures in contemporary public affairs such as Hillary Clinton, Collin Powell, Madeline Albright and Valéry Giscard d'Estaing among other prominent diplomats.
After thanking Tufts University President Lawrence Baccow for his kind introductory remarks, Blair apologized for being late, which was due to London experiencing the heaviest snowstorm in almost 20 years.
“I woke up this morning at 5am and was told by my eight-year-old son that ‘Dad, it is snowing!’ … What a classic British understatement,” he said.
After a decade in office tackling some of the major international relations problems of our time like the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Iran, and North Korean nuclear ambitions, Blair’s work for the Quartet is likely to play a big role in resolving the intractable conflict in the Middle East. Seven months on the job, and with the change of guard in America with the Inauguration of President Barack Obama, Blair is hopeful that a new approach to Middle East diplomacy could tip the balance in favor of lasting peace in the region.
“The future of peace and security in the 21st century will be forged by the relationship we craft between Islam and the West,” said Blair. “We need to understand that our future is shared and in peril. We will either succeed together or fall in despair. This challenge goes beyond the Middle East.”
Indeed, globalization lies at the heart of the issue. The pace of change and communication is clearly more rapid then ever; as a result the world is a smaller place than it used to be.
“The world is opening up, frontiers are coming down, boundaries are being blurred,” said Blair. Do we manage this change through diplomacy and global institutions, or do we let this change be a source of friction, division, and difficulty? That is really the core of the issue.”
Nation-states can no longer pursue their own foreign policy agendas alone. This no longer works in today’s world. “Whether it is the Middle East crisis, climate change or the economic crisis, what stands out about each of these is the fact that the challenges are global and require global responses. In no case can any country, not even the most powerful one, respond alone.”
To this end, global alliances are critical to determine the nature of the world in which we shall live. Global alliances are important precursors to global institutions, and global institutions can foster global value. Global alliances cannot come about without imposing one worldview on others. Alliances must be based on partnership, equity, and justice.
“That is what needs to happen in the Middle East. We need a combination of hard and soft power to counter fanaticism. We need more than international stability, said Blair. “We need the languages, instincts and policies for effective diplomacy.”
Blair emphasized that these efforts need to be applied to address the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which is the most important conflict we need to resolve in our time. Why the most important? “For a deeper reason… if we find the basis for peace in that small strip of land, if the peoples of this land actually learn to live with each other after all the tragedy, then that will be the single most powerful expression of co-existence ever,” said Blair. The impact of peace in the Middle East would reverberate around the globe and would provide evidence that such peace is achievable anywhere.
“We need to understand that peace in the Middle East is not impossible.” Blair spoke with conviction surmising that if a reasonably intelligent Israeli and Palestinian were put in separate rooms and asked to come up with workable solutions for peace, that we could expect that they would not be so far from resolving the crisis. Therefore, peace is possible and a reinvigorated political process must be our number one priority. The second priority is the West Bank, where the majority of Palestinians live. The West Bank’s economy is slowly starting to grow and the territories are attracting a larger number of tourists. They need to set up their own institutions and improve their capacity to ensure security. We need to capitalize on this hope in prosperity.
Blair also emphasized the need for a better solution to Gaza. “We need to offer the people of Gaza a way out.” This can be done, and must done. “We cannot afford to let another year go by without substantial progress in peace for the Middle East.”
Blair then took several questions from students. Two Fletcher School students posed questions. The first asked whether the conflict in Gaza could have been anticipated. The second asked whether he had any regrets vis-ŕ-vis decisions he made while British Prime Minister. Blair stated that the rocket fire and the consequent military action by Israel “was entirely predictable.” As for the second question, he smiled and said, “that’s for me to know and you to find out.”
Patrick Meier F12