Tony Blair Slams Hamas; His Former Ambassador Slams Blair and Israel

 This morning the Today programme on BBC Radio 4 had an interesting contrast in perspectives on the current crisis. First came former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, appearing in his capacity as a Middle Eastern envoy, to criticize Hamas. Then came Blair’s former ambassador to the United Nations and Iraq, Sir Jeremy Greenstock, who began by criticizing Blair and then went after Israel over the current crisis. In the course of his interview he said that: 

1. that Israel had broken the ceasefire by not opening the border crossings;


2. that Hamas is not a proxy of Iran;


3. that Hamas is not trying to set up a Taliban-style government in Gaza;


4. that Hamas’ unwillingness to accept the existence of Israel was about rhetoric and not about reality;


5. that Israel continues to inflame the situation in the region by constructing illegal settlements;


6. that Israeli domestic politics were also driving the crisis;


7. that Fatah and Islamic Jihad have also been firing rockets;

Greenstock, who has had contacts with Hamas through a charity called Forward Thinking, referred to the precedent of Northern Ireland, noting that Blair had already followed the path of talking with interests that engaged in terrorism.

Comments

[Ian]

It must be pretty disquieting for the British political elite to see one of their own offer a diametrically opposed view of the situation. Or has this guy turned into a bit of a renegade? Cos, he's certainly not towing the party line here!!!

Also, can anyone shed anymore light on points 2, 3, 4?

[Dave]

I think it seems logical given Blair's acceptance of the American medal that was awarded to him and his conversion to Roman Catholicism. The Pope has taken a hard line (confrontational one) on Muslim clerics and the Muslim world in general. Blair's criticism of Hamas and Islamic movements in general shouldn't be that surprising.

Ian,

What is it about the prince and his racial remark that has got the military all crazed? I was 1 of only 2 white students in my class one year and I was called honky, whitebread, cracker -- you name it. But I never got bent out of shape over it and neither did the other kid. I didn't care at all. I actually thought it was funny. Sure it's not in good taste, but so what?

Everybody wants to be a victim. If it's not your skin color, it's the color of your socks or graying hair. People just need to deal with it.

[Ian]

Dave,

I think it's as much to do with class as it is about race. As your probably aware the issue of class remains a contentious one in British society. I was listening to a piece on the radio today about the lack of social mobility in the UK amongst the poorest sections of society.

In the context of the British military, around 90% (or thereabouts) of officers are from public school (i.e. privately educated) and it is perceived as institution where class prejudice and racism still prevail. I have pretty strong views when it comes to the monarchy (i won't be laying my life down for queen and country any time soon). Part of it is also to with this notion of multiculturalism that is constantly being pushed and manipulated by people for their own ends, whether the "victimised" or the so-called "defenders" of the victim.

My own view is that people want to try and outlaw racist words, so if people stop saying them they will stop thinking racist thoughts and acting upon them. I maybe wrong, but i think that conflation is problematic. If people understand the context in which remarks are made and the person's intentions are not malicious or based on prejudice, fear, hate etc then what is the real problem? The issue, of course, is a matter of interpretation and that's where tensions arise. Who gets to decide who is and who is not a racist?

Sorry for longwinded post! Time for bed.

[Harlan Leyside]

It IS a class issue. Those Pakistanis and Muslims who have been most vocal in attacking the use of the word "Paki" were middle-class. When asked to explain how many Pakistanis used the word "Paki" amngst themselves or accepted it's use by whites, one of these casually dismissed them as "stupid".
Similarly, it's middle class whites who castigate the use of the word, while working class whites use it commonly when talkiing to their Pakistani mates and neighbours.
It's the working classes who suffer the lions share of discrimination, whatever their cultural / racial / national background.
They have serious stufff to worry about, rather than this PC trivia that so obsesses middle class sheltered PC obsessives, which the media is crammed full of.
Perhaps reeling from the sheer volume of criiticism of their blatent pro-Israel bias in covering a most serious current news story, the BBC have lept on this Harry-Paki trivia, giving it absurdly massive ammounts of exposure, as if this would somehow compensate!

[chrisE]

Ian- I believe 60% of entrants to Sandhurts are from State Schools.

[Ian]

Not sure where i got the 90% figure from? It's about 50/50 according to government select committee in 2006:

http://www.parliament.the-stationery-office.com/pa/cm200607/cmselect/cmpubacc/43/6111505.htm