Tony Blair's Speech on World Affairs

Six years ago, I had respect for Tony Blair. In the last five years, I believe he has made a number of blunders and damaged his credibility so that I find it difficult sometimes to hear what he has to say. I have to remind myself that in late 2002 and 2003 there were times he was trying to get Bush to take a more sensible approach on Iraq even as he went along with so much of the nonsense. I'm not excusing Blair, but he's always been more thoughtful about these things than Bush even if he allowed himself to be dazzled by the Bush circle.

Democracy Arsenal has a post on Blair's speech that's worth reading. I disagree with a number of things Blair says but he makes a number of useful points. Here's an excerpt from the Blair speech that would actually be useful if somebody else were saying it:

...the rule book of international politics has been torn up. Interdependence - the fact of a crisis somewhere becoming a crisis everywhere - makes a mockery of traditional views of national interest. You can't have a coherent view of national interest today without a coherent view of the international community. Nations, even ones as large and powerful as the USA, are affected profoundly by world events; and not affected, in time or at the margins but at breakneck speed and fundamentally. Why is immigration the No.1 domestic policy issue in much of Europe and in the US today? What are the solutions? The answer is that globalisation is making mass migration a reality; and only global development will make it a manageable reality.

Which is the issue that has rocketed up the agenda of most political leaders in a way barely foreseen even 3 years back? Energy policy. China and India need energy to grow. The damage to the environment of carbon emissions is now accepted. It doesn't much matter whether the issue is approached through energy security or climate change, the fact is we need a framework, internationally agreed, through which the developing nations can grow, the wealthy countries maintain their standard of living and the environment be protected from disaster. And this is not a long-term issue - though its consequences are long-term. It is here and now.

Largely excellent words (though I object to the idea of immigration being the number one problem). But then, Blair proceeds to lose me in the very next paragraph and it is the evidence for me that he has a poor realization of the disaster of the last four years:

The point is that in respect of any of these challenges, certain things stand out. They affect us all. They can only be effectively tackled together. And they require a pre-emptive and not simply reactive response.

I have no problem with thinking ahead but let's be done with words like 'pre-emptive' and start focusing on where we are and not where some wish we were. No amount of rhetoric or public relations is going to repair the damage that Bush has done. Only a change in policies, a departure of people like Cheney and Rumsfeld, and hard work will lead to the necessary repairs. Whether that begins in three weeks or three years, it has to begin.