Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair said on the Today show this morning that as the new Middle East shapes out, it’s more important for the U.S. to be on the side of right instead of worrying about being liked.
“I’ve just come back from my 88th visit to the Middle East since leaving office,” said Blair, now the envoy for the Quartet on the Middle East. “If I were you in America, I would not worry about being loved. That’s not your role in the world, right? Your role is to be strong and you are strong.”
He said it’s key to remember that in all of the locations where anti-American protests have been seen, there are two groups fighting for the region’s future.
“So, it’s true, you have these anti- American protesters burning the flag, saying terrible things, trying to kill American people. You also have in Libya, for example, after the tragic death of your ambassador there, you had thousands of people coming out protesting against the killers and demanding action taken against them,” Blair said.
“So, you know, in the end, you’ve got to see this as a long struggle in which we’ve got to be on the side of the decent people, and there are decent people out there.”
A common denominator in the Arab Spring countries, he said, is that those who have been rid of repressive dictatorship now have to “learn that democracy isn’t about just a way of voting, it’s a way of thinking.”
“If they want to make progress, we’ve got to help them, but also challenge them to realize that the test of a democracy is not just how the majority win, but how they then treat the minority, how they treat, for example, people of different religious faiths to their own,” Blair said.
“…democracy isn’t about just a way of voting, it’s a way of thinking…”
Well said. The problem is, people in this country don’t even understand this distinction and I’ve made this point over and over again. The FaceBook revolutionaries like ot point ot the vote and see it as democracy in action. That someone was able to cast a vote is too often mistaken for liberty. Democracy is a consequence of liberty, not vice versa.
Wow. When Tony freakin Blair has to question if American has any balls left, then the answer must be a resounding NO.
The former PM continues to miss or ignore one key fact: at the core of the Middle East’s problem is Islam, itself, which is fundamentally hostile to democracy and intolerant of other faiths living alongside it in places where Islam is the majority.
Tony Blair , the man who went to war against Iraq and Afghanistan supported by best allies man can find , Kosovo Albanians and Bosnian Muslims. Good for you Mr.Blair, good for your country ,too. What is your advice now Mr. Blair , to release Blind Sheik in order to sort things out in Middle East? Maybe to sell some weapons to Iran in order to help Israel? / Remember those happy days when Bin Laden was in Sarajevo killing Serbian children ? /
There will be no surprise if one fine day same people you supported in Balkans show up on your trial and charge you as a war criminal.
Wise words. It is easy to give in to the temptation of thinking all Muslims are sorry lot. The world is more complex than that. And lot harder to deal with.
Tony Blair, best friend of Gaddhafi, has been to the ME 88 times, he tells us.
Seeing the mess the ME is in, he’s not very effective, is he?
And what about Iran?
Btw – I don’t think he’s been to Israel very often, certainly not in the last couple of years …