Tony Blair Talks Faith, Foreign Policy at Fairmont
By Kate Gardiner in News on Apr 23, 2009 3:40PM
Nearly ten years to the day after former British Prime Minister Tony Blair last visited Chicago, he was back in the city, addressing some of the same foreign policy problems in the Middle East. But, he said Wednesday night, to members of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs at the Fairmont Hotel, his post-administration era, and his current work as representative of the Quartet (United States, UN, Russia and the European Union) charged with mediating the Israel-Palestine conflict, has allowed him time to reflect on and refine his administrations’ foreign policies in the Middle East, especially at the intersection of faith and politics.
“Struggle we’re joined in today is profound,” Blair said. “It requires engagement of different, more comprehensive kind.” Blair went on to say that the policy of intervention he implemented during his terms in office is still relevant - and that it should go further.
Blair said he understands why some would prefer to abandon the Middle Eastern morass. "I understand the fatigue with interventional policy, especially given those who are grieving for those fallen in battle," he said. The losses make us unsure where we start, how we precede - and where we end."
Blair said the international community could revert to a non-interventionist policy, but, "the problem is that they probably won't leave us alone. [Leaving each other alone] isn't how the world works today." He continued, "The Holy Land, if you see it, west to east, could fit within a small US state many thousands of miles away - but if there is no peace there, it affects our peace here."
He outlined a six-part solution to the problems at hand, encouraging the international community to attempt to understand the battle being waged between faith and policy, and to more thoroughly fight extremism in the Middle East through education and organization. Blair said he thinks the international community needs to figure out its balance between hard and soft power, and that it needs utilize both in an integrated strategy while lending authenticity to allies that rivals that of the small culture of extremists currently in the limelight.
Most importantly, Blair said he thinks, "The Western political community has to rediscover some confidence and conviction in what we believe in."
Acknowledging that the ongoing economic crisis could prove a challenge, he said he thinks the recession will help the international democratic community to focus, to learn its lessons and adjust the system.
"[The Westernized economy] has delivered amazing leaps forward and we shouldn’t, amongst the gloom [of today], forget it," he said. "The body of ideas in this country and in mine that has given us this liberty to vote in and out rulers and provides reliable rule of law - infinitely more transparent -that body isn’t decaying."
According to the Council, a complete audio recording will be available on the group's Web site later this week.