Multilateralism / Op-Ed/Article
Has Blair changed his foreign policy?
02/04/2007 By Ivan Briscoe
Almost a decade after his arrival in power electrified the British political scene, Prime Minister Tony Blair approaches his last days in office amid widespread public discontent over his rule.
His desire to leave behind a legacy based on moderate reformism and renewal of the British public sector has not managed to overcome his low popularity ratings or the military and humanitarian disaster that his decisions helped to create in Iraq. Only turns of phrase more suited to his time as a young lawyer now seem to serve his defence of the 2003 invasion and its effects. "We did not cause terrorism, the terrorists caused terrorism," Blair told Parliament on the day he announced the withdrawal of 1,600 of the 7,100 British soldiers stationed in Iraq.
In all probability, Blair will hand over power in a matter of months to his eternal rival and ally, the current Chancellor Gordon Brown. And it is Brown's greater caution in diplomatic issues - on which he has so far had little to say -, as well as his concern over the fall of Labour Party support in opinion polls, which seem to lie behind the withdrawal.
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Keywords
Conflict Europe External intervention Iraq Middle East and North Africa Neo-conservatives United Kingdom United States War on terrorRelated publications
- After Bush's Speech, Tony Blair Would Be Well Advised to Stay Home
- Bush and Blair, lost in Palestine and Israel
Bio author: Ivan Briscoe
Ivan Briscoe studied philosophy, politics and economics (PPE) at the University of Oxford, before receiving a Frank Knox Memorial Fellowship to continue his studies for a year at Harvard University. He has also completed a master's degree in Development at Madrid's Complutense University. From 2004 he has worked as the editor of the English edition of El País (Madrid). He writes often on Latin America and developing world issues for Open Democracy (www.opendemocracy.net) and The New Internationalist, and has taken part in numerous radio programmes on the BBC, Radio Nederland and Radio France International.
