BLAIR CLAIMS P.A. IMPLEMENTING ROAD MAP

Blair claims PA implementing roadmap - let's fact check (ELDER OF ZIYON)

From Ynet: International Middle East envoy Tony Blair said on Thursday the Palestinians were meeting their security obligations under a long-stalled Road Map peace plan and that Israel should start responding. "I think it is important to recognise that what has happened here in Nablus over these past few months is, of course, precisely what phase one of the 'road map' asks for," Blair said during a visit to the northern West Bank city of Nablus. Really?   ELDER OF ZIYON CHECKS THE FACTS AND MAKES BLAIR SOUND LIKE A LYING FOOL...HERE.

BLAIR: NO PALI STATE UNLESS COHERENTLY RUN

Blair: No State Unless Palestinians Act on Security, No Engaging Hamas - James Blitz and Roula Khalaf
Four months into his new role as Middle East envoy, Tony Blair said in an interview that the creation of a Palestinian state does not simply amount to defining territory, but is also about how the Palestinians manage themselves, particularly on the security front. "The single most important thing I can do to help the Palestinians is tell them the truth. And the truth is that there will not be a [Palestinian] state unless the nature of that state is clear," he said. Blair did not believe in engaging Hamas. He stressed that the Islamist group could only be brought into negotiations once it recognized Israel and renounced violence. (Financial Times-UK)

BLAIR: NO PALI STATE UNLESS COHERENTLY RUN

Blair: There Won't Be Palestinian State Unless It Is Coherently Run - Barak Ravid, David Landau, Aluf Benn and Shmuel Rosner
Quartet envoy Tony Blair said in an interview in Washington on Wednesday he no longer believes that "land for peace," in and of itself, is sufficient. What is no less important, in his view, is the character of the Palestinian state. He constantly warns senior PA officials: "There won't be a Palestinian state unless it is coherently governed and run, and anyone who tells you different is misleading you."

What Blair has tried to explain to the Arab world and to the Palestinians is that they must understand how the events in Gaza have affected the Israeli public and leadership. If one looks at it from the vantage point of Israelis, they left Gaza, evacuated 7,000 settlers, and ended up with a Hamas takeover. Blair believes that anyone who wants to reach a solution has to understand that Israelis' security concerns are genuinely and deeply felt. (Ha'aretz)

JEWISH DIPLOMAT APPOINTED BLAIR AIDE

Jewish diplomat appointed Blair aide (JTA)
The Bush administration named a veteran U.S. diplomat to assist Tony Blair in promoting Israeli-Palestinian peace.

Don Bandler, a former ambassador to Cyprus and a former director for Israeli and Palestinian affairs at the State Department, will be based in Jerusalem, a State Department statement said. He will represent the former British prime minister, who is now the lead Middle East envoy of the Quartet, the coalition of the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations promoting Israeli-Palestinian peace.

Bandler, the scion of a Philadelphia Jewish family, most recently worked for the Kissinger McLarty consulting firm headed by Henry Kissinger, the former secretary of state. The Quartet's other members must affirm Bandler, but that is believed to be a formality.

NYT MAKES A QUIET CORRECTION

FOR THE RECORD (TNR)
There's a coy correction in Saturday's "For the Record" space of the Times, the first of seven such notes. It begins, "Because of an editing error..." and deals with mistakes in an article about Tony Blair's agenda as Middle East envoy of the Quartet. Specifically, the two errors concerned the statistics of Palestinian refugees and when they became refugees.

Apparently, the original errors exaggerated the refugee totals: the article said "millions," not, as was the case, "about 700,000;" and the timing of their departure, not afterward, but before and during the war. Please read the Tuesday Times for the offending article. But you can't find the errors. They've been shaved from the record, alas.

Now, the initial article was written by Isabel Kershner, a splendid recent addition to the Times Jerusalem bureau. Frankly, I can't conceive of Kershner making these errors. If there's anything she knows cold, it's the Palestinians and their predicament. So probably, the "For the Record" item was entirely honest: "due to an editing error..." This means that an ignoramus was doing the editing. And that the fact checkers, well, they were the distorters.

BLAIR MORE ENVOY TO PALESTINIANS THAN PEACE NEGOTIATOR

Blair Will Be More an Envoy to the Palestinians than a Peace Envoy - Tim Butcher
Tony Blair was told by the U.S. Thursday that he had no authority to tackle political negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians as he spent his first full day as special envoy to the Middle East. Condoleezza Rice, the U.S. secretary of state, insisted at a meeting of the Middle East Quartet in Lisbon that America would retain leadership of the "political track" while Blair would work on raising funds for the Palestinians, as well as building their economy and infrastructure. He will be more an envoy to the Palestinians than a peace envoy. The Quartet reiterated its policy of refusing to deal with Hamas on the grounds that it is a terrorist group, instead backing Mahmoud Abbas. (Telegraph-UK)

E.U. TO BLAIR: "TURN THE SCREWS ON THE JEWS"

EU to Blair: Turn the screws on the Jews (JWN)
Ten European Union foreign ministers Monday messaged newly-appointed Middle East envoy Tony Blair to increase the pressure on Israel to make more "concessions for peace."

And they let the former British prime minister know that they want to see an international conference on the Arab-Israeli conflict convened, one at which Israel would stand decidedly alone against the pro-"Palestinian" world.

Ynetnews reported that, in an open letter to the new big-power envoy, "the foreign ministers of the EU's Mediterranean states – Bulgaria, Cyprus, Spain, France, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Malta, Romania and Slovenia – welcomed Arab states' efforts for peace following the stalled US-backed 'road map.'"

"The Road Map has failed," the ministers reportedly said in the letter that appeared in the newspaper Le Monde. There was therefore a need to "redefine our objectives."

Europe and the Quartet of Middle East mediators should firmly tell Israel to make more concessions in support of Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas, they continued. One of their new objectives was "to obtain from Israel concrete and immediate measures in favor of Mahmoud Abbas.

"Among these, the transfer of all taxes due, the release of the thousands of prisoners who do not have blood on their hands, the release as well of the main Palestinian leaders [like Marwan Barghouti who does have blood on his hands] to ensure succession within Fatah, a freeze in new [Jewish] settlements and the evacuation of unauthorized settlements, [read ethnically cleansing the land of Jews]" they said.

While these challenges were surely daunting, the ministers said, "we know how inventive and resolute you are," the ministers told Blair. They also called for an examination of the idea, put forward by Abbas, that a robust international force be brought into the PA areas to impose a ceasefire between rival Arab factions. Israel has always resisted suggestions that foreign troops be introduced into the Jews' ancient homeland, knowing that once inside it would be difficult to get them out.

THOUGHTS ON BLAIR AS QUARTET ENVOY

Blair's Mission: Impossible - Youssef Ibrahim
The move to hire Blair by the Quartet would have been amusing if it were not so obviously misguided. What's the man supposed to do? The Palestinian Arab territories are run by two warring mini-authorities. Neither side has any constituents who can make a deal, keep one if it were made, or even deliver on any pact with other Arabs, let alone with the Israelis. That has been true for 60 years. In this circus, Abbas has been nothing but a convenient distraction. He has never commanded anyone and, like most so-called Palestinian Arab leaders, he is just one of a series of tired, old faces - unable to manage, but unwilling to move on.

So Blair's first mission will be to reconcile the Palestinian Arabs - something that the Saudis, the Egyptians, and the Jordanians have been unable to do since 1948, when Britain gave up its mandate to run the Palestinian Arab territories. Blair has nothing special to contribute to this mess. Attempting to fiddle - again - with the one Middle East problem that has been a constant since 1948 is glaringly artificial and pretentious. Tony, we love you. Please get a life. (New York Sun)

See also Four Reasons Why Blair Is the Perfect Envoy - Anshel Pfeffer (Jerusalem Post)

Advice for Blair: Stop Patronizing the Palestinians - Gerald M. Steinberg
Real Israeli-Palestinian peace requires the type of societal transformations that take many years. This process will also require a basic change in international perceptions with respect to Palestinians. In particular, the patronizing and ineffective emphasis on Palestinian suffering and helplessness that has dominated actions since 1948 must end. Palestinians must be given the opportunity and the external push to take control over their own destiny, and stop seeing themselves simply as passive victims. The rampant corruption and failed leadership in Palestinian society is, to a large degree, a product of the massive welfare system in effect since the 1948 war. (ICA/JCPA)

The Real Obstacle to Peace: Genocidal Jihad - Saul Singer
The first thing Tony Blair should do is rethink the whole concept of a "Mideast envoy." What the job needs most now is not a mediator but a truth-teller. The more Israel embraced Palestinian statehood, the more violent and radicalized the Palestinians have become. During last summer's war in Lebanon, Blair hit on the real obstacle to peace. He said Hizbullah was not fighting "for the coming into being of a Palestinian state, but for the going out of being of an Israeli state." The struggle for peace is no longer between Israelis and Palestinians. It is between the jihadi axis (Hamas, Hizbullah, al-Qaeda, Syria and Iran) and the West, moderate Arabs and Israel, who want to resolve the Palestinian problem and the Arab-Israeli conflict. Blair's first task for peace should be to expose the real obstacle to peace: the jihadi front's genocidal dream of destroying Israel. (Washington Post)

BLAIR NAMED QUARTET REP.

Blair named Middle East troubleshooter.
UNITED NATIONS (AFP) - Tony Blair was Wednesday named envoy of the Middle East peace quartet tasked with spearheading efforts to create a Palestinian state, hours after he stepped down as British prime minister.

"Following discussions among the principals, today the quartet dealing with the Middle East is announcing the appointment of Tony Blair as the quartet representative," UN spokeswoman Michele Montas announced.

She said that as "quartet representative, Mr Blair will mobilize international assistance to the Palestinians, working closely with donors and existing coordinating bodies."

Blair, 54, will also "help identify and secure appropriate international support in addressing the institutional governance needs of the Palestinian state, focusing as a matter of urgency on the rule of law," a quartet statement said.

WHEN DID THE QUARTET BECOME EXCLUSIVELY ABOUT CREATING A PALESTINIAN STATE? ISN'T THAT PUTTING THE CART BEFORE THE HORSE. I THOUGHT THE PURPOSE OF THE QUARTET WAS TO ENCOURAGE PEACE. DOESN'T THAT MEAN WORKING FOR AN END TO TERROR, INCITEMENT, AND ASSURING ISRAEL'S SECURITY?

Blair leaves legacy of Israel support (JTA)
As the Jewish community lauds outgoing British Prime Minister Tony Blair for his commitment to Israel and Jewish causes, the question is whether his successor will follow suit. Full Story

BLAIR TO BE QUARTET REP?

Bush, Blair Discuss Role as Middle East Envoy (NYSun)
Could Represent the Quarter of Peacemakers

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush has talked with British Prime Minister Blair about taking a role as a Middle East peace envoy after he leaves office next week.

Assistant Secretary of State Welch, the State Department's top diplomat for the Middle East, talked with Mr. Blair in London on Wednesday, while the White House and State Department spoke glowingly about the prime minister's credentials but said there was nothing to announce yet.

Israeli Prime Minister Olmert also expressed support for Mr. Blair playing a role in the Middle East.

"Officials in the prime minister's office are aware of this idea and Prime Minister Olmert is very supportive of Prime Minister Blair and of his continuing involvement in the Middle East and the peace process," Israeli government spokeswoman Miri Eisin said.

Mr. Blair steps down next Wednesday.

TONY BLAIR TO BE NEW MID-EAST AMBASSADOR?

Blair set for ambassador role in Africa (UK Telegraph)
Tony Blair is to become a roving ambassador in Africa and the Middle East when he leaves Downing Street in an attempt to rebuild his tarnished reputation.

The Daily Telegraph can disclose that the Prime Minister is to spurn the chance to earn up to £10 million a year on the international lecture circuit by concentrating on raising money for his new Blair Foundation, which will fund humanitarian work in Africa.

Mr Blair has also agreed to a request from President George W Bush that he will fly in to the Middle East when requested as a special envoy to try to revive the stalled peace process.

BLAIR: ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN CRISIS MOST IMPORTANT FACTOR INFLUENCING WORLD PEACE

WHAT? IS BLAIR CYNICAL OR NAIVE TO STATE THAT THE "ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN CRISIS" IS THE MOST IMPORTANT FACTOR INFLUENCING WORLD PEACE AND THAT THERE IS NO MORE IMPORTANT ISSUE TO RESOLVE?

IT'S RESOLUTION IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE WAR BETWEEN ISLAMOFASCISTS AND THE WEST? MORE IMPORTANT THAN GENOCIDE IN AFRICA? MORE IMPORTANT THAN - GASP - GLOBAL WARMING? MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE AIDS CRISIS?

IS HE PANDERING TO THE WORST ELEMENTS OF OUR SOCIETY OR DOES HE REALLY BELIEVE THAT THE WORLD WILL JOIN HANDS AND SING KUMBAYA IF ONLY ISRAEL AND THE PALESTINIANS CAN ACHIEVE PEACE?

Blair: Progress soon in peace process (JPost)
British Prime Minister Tony Blair said in a radio interview for broadcast Monday that there likely would be progress in the Middle East peace process over the next few weeks.

World leaders agreed that the Israeli-Palestinian crisis was the single most important factor influencing world peace, Blair told BBC radio, adding that a breakthrough could be made soon.

"Our obligation is to put forward a peace process that can work and try and take that forward," he said, according to extracts released in advance by the BBC. "And over the next few weeks I think there will be some real movement there."

Blair has made the search for Middle East peace a priority of his 10-year premiership, and said he would continue to promote peace efforts after leaving office. He has announced he will step down by September.

"I will retain a huge interest in the peace process in Israel and Palestine in the years to come, of course, because it's so important," Blair said.

He said he was "in the end optimistic that this thing can be done." "But it requires a lot of hard work, a lot of commitment and it requires the international community as a whole to recognize that there is no more important issue for us to resolve than Israel/Palestine."