The Middle East: Tony Blair criticized by his ex-diplomats

Le Monde ^ | April 28, 2004 | Jean-Pierre Langellier

[zahal724]

London of our correspondent

With the kingdom of the understatement and euphemism, this letter is a true snub for Tony Blair. Addressing itself, Monday April 26, with British, cinquante-deux the Prime Minister former diplomats of high row announced their "increasing concern to him" in front of "the policy that - it follows on the problem israélo-Arabic and to Iraq, in close cooperation with the United States" .

A policy "likely to fail" , estimate the signatories of this missive without precedent.

The interested parties know what they speak. One finds among them numbers ambassadors, who represented His Very Gracious Majesty in Tel-Aviv, Baghdad, Moscow, Brussels or New York.

With a frankness to which they seldom had the occasion to be given up when they occupied their functions, these diplomats with the retirement at the proper time judge "to make public our anxiety, in the hope which the Parliament will be worried so that that leads to a fundamental re-examination" .

The Middle East, the British ex-diplomats reproach Mr. Blair for having aligned themselves on the policy pro-Israeli of George Bush. Deploring the "unfounded hopes" put in the "passenger waybill" - the peace plan having to lead to the advent of a Palestinian State in 2005 -, they note: "Nothing effective was done to advance the negotiations or to reduce violence. Great Britain and the other godfathers of the "passenger waybill" were satisfied to wait until the United States exerts their leadership, but in vain." "the worst is to be come" , predict, by denouncing the "new policy" , "inequitable and illegal" , announced by George Bush and Ariel Sharon.

They are caught some directly to Mr. Blair: "Our consternation in front of this step behind is all the more large as you seem yourself to have approved it, by giving up the principles which guided during nearly forty years the international efforts restoring Holy Land peace."

In Iraq, the critics of Mr. Blair stress that the coalition did not have a "effective plan" for the post-war period and condemn the heavy assessment of the military occupation among the civil ones. As for the Middle East, the diplomats exhortent the Prime Minister "to exert, in a very urgent way, a real influence, in honest ally" on Mr. Bush: "If this influence is considered to be unacceptable or malvenue, it is not necessary to continue to support a policy likely to fail."

The Prime Minister let know that it would answer these objections at the appropriate time, while one of the initiators of the letter, Oliver Miles, former ambassador in Athens, explained: "the purpose of We are not to embarrass Mr. Blair." Who will believe this precaution of diplomatic language?

Jean-Pierre Langellier

? ARTICLE PUBLISHED IN the EDITION OF The 28.04.04

[goldstategop]

The Arabism of the British Foreign Office is the stuff of legend. No surprise here.