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- Russia presses for larger Middle East role Excerpt here
- Blair in the running for Nobel Peace Prize – Oh, how I’d love to see the Guardianistos’ faces on this news!
- But if you think Blair has his work cut out – what do you think of Brown’s volte face? It’s certainly (muddled) politics, but not as we have ever known it, when George Galloway paraphrases Blair: “the kaleidoscope has definitely been shaken. But while the pieces are in flux, why don’t we reorder this world?” Want to hear and watch the original? Just below …
Comment at end
9th October, 2008
The Original Blair (2nd October 2001 Labour Conference)
“This is a moment to seize. The kaleidoscope has been shaken, the pieces are in flux. Soon they will settle again. Before they do, let us re-order this world around us.”
Now that Galloway has reminded me, I thought I’d add this video link of Blair shortly after 9/11. Nobody says it better, eh George?
FROM ONE FIRING LINE TO ANOTHER
Shortly after firing the starting pistol at the Great North Run in Newcastle on Sunday, Mr Blair was on his way back to the firing line in his role as the Quartet’s Middle East Peace Envoy.
To see what he is up against in trying to bring people together, read this. [Pasted in its entirety below.]
In Tel Aviv, on Monday, he met with Israeli Defence Minister, Ehud Barak (above), and also with the Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad.
On Tuesday, October 7th he visited a site of a new water system at the West Bank village of Qabatiya, near Jenin, as well as visiting a girls’ school in the West Bank town of Kabatyeh
Ten year old says – “His name is Tony Blair. I think he is the Security Commander”
At an October 7th Press Conference in Jenin
This video is from Tony Blair’s Office. On May 2nd, 2008, Tony Blair tells Al Jazeera’s Mark Seddon that it is decision time for all the main players in the Middle East, including Hamas.
ISRAEL’S OUTGOING PM URGES MOSCOW NOT TO SELL ARMS TO IRAN OR SYRIA
Moscow (CNSNews.com) – As Russia moves to boost its clout in the Middle East, Israel is stepping up its appeals to Moscow not to provide Iran and Syria with advanced weapons systems.
Visiting Moscow on October 6-7, outgoing Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert urged President Dmitry Medvedev not to sell air defense and other sophisticated arms to Israel’s two most dangerous foes.
Medvedev refrained from any firm commitment on the issue, but reiterated Russia’s determination to play an important role in the Middle East and contribute to peace-making efforts in the region.
Russia in recent years has agreed to restructure Soviet-era debt owed by Syria for earlier arms purchases.
A reported agreement to sell Syria Igla SA-18 shoulder-held anti-aircraft missiles raised concerns – Israel worried that they could end up in the hands of Hezbollah or Palestinian terrorists, while the U.S. also opposed to the sale, concerned that the missiles could find their way into Iraq and be used against coalition assets there. There has been no confirmation that the sale has gone ahead.
Russia, a member of the “Quartet” mediating Mideast peace efforts, has consistently taken a softer line than Western governments on Hezbollah and Hamas, both of which are considered terrorist organizations by Israel and most Western countries.
In April, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas traveled to Moscow to discuss plans for a Middle East conference in Moscow in the fall of this year. During talks with Abbas, Russian officials suggested that the planned summit should also discuss Lebanese and Syrian aspects of the Middle East peace process.
However, the proposed Moscow conference failed to take place – evidently as a result of Russia-U.S. tensions over the Georgia war. At a Quartet meeting in New York City late last month, representatives “agreed that the spring of 2009 could be an appropriate time for an international meeting in Moscow,” according to a statement released after the meeting.
It remains unclear how the delay will impact the Bush administration’s stated goal of an agreement by the end of this year paving the way for an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel.
The Quartet’s other members are the United States, the United Nations and the European Union.
With friends like these …
From Al-Rai TV, September 24th, 2008
“ALL ARAB LEADERS SHOULD COMMIT SUICIDE; TZIPI LIVNI IS A ‘CREATURE‘”
Qatar University Political Science Professor Muhammad Al-Musfir: All Arab Leaders Should Commit Suicide; Tzipi Livni Is a “Creature” |
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Following are excerpts from an interview with Muhamamd Al-Musfir, a professor of political science at Qatar University, which aired on Al-Rai TV on September 24, 2008: Muhammad Al-Musfir: The Arab leaders should all commit suicide, because they are responsible for the tragedy in Iraq. Look what these Arab leaders are doing together with Iran and the United States – they are competing among themselves who will warn the U.S. against attacking Iran. I am happy about this, by the way. [...] It is a lie that I coordinated between Shimon Peres and Hamas. Interviewer: Have you met with Shimon Peres? Muhammad Al-Musfir: I never have, and I never will. My hand will never shake the hand of a Zionist – even if it is chopped off. Interviewer: Tzipi Livni was in Doha a few days ago… Muhammad Al-Musfir: Yes… Interviewer: You have a dissenting view with regard to the Doha conference as well… Muhammad Al-Musfir: Not with regard to the conference itself, but with regard to her participation in the conference. I wrote in the local papers… Allah be praised, in Qatar, we can exercise freedom of expression without being harmed. I wrote about the Doha conference and about the participation of the Israeli foreign minister in it that it is not necessary for this “creature” – I call her a “creature” – to participate in such an international conference, because she would divert the conference away from its real goals – democracy and its consolidation, not only in Qatar, but in the Arab world in particular, and in the Third World in general. Therefore, such a woman – or rather, such a “creature” – would reduce the value of the conference. [...] Your Al-Zawraa TV was viewed throughout the Arab world. Why did they eliminate it? Because it presented the achievements of the Iraqi resistance and the failures of the occupation, its collaborators, and its thieves. It explained all this to the viewers, and it was the most popular channel, with the exception of Al-Jazeera – if not as popular as Al-Jazeera TV. They killed this channel. Who did? The Arab regimes. On whose orders? The Americans and the Israelis. |
More fun and games
Tags: Brown (Gordon Brown & his Labour Government, from June 2007), Ehud Barak, George Galloway, Israeli Defence Minister, jenin, Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, Tony Blair in Middle East, West Bank town Kabatyeh, West Bank village Qabatiya
