Why can’t Tony Blair get rid of the habit of imperial intervention in the Middle East? Oliver Eagleton
“TThere are two types of politicians.” Notice Tony Blair In 2012. “Creators of Reality and Managers of Reality.” He claimed that while post-war politics had generally been a matter of static administration, the emerging order called for greater creativity, “both in economics and foreign policy.” Only a certain kind of visionary leader was suited to this task.
More than a decade later, Blair has now joined forces with the pre-eminent creator of reality, Donald Trump, to formulate a hallucinatory plan. 20 point plan For Gaza. The plan aims to transform the devastated Strip into what looks like a colonial protectorate: cleared of armed conflict, teeming with development projects and a “special economic zone” through which foreign capital can flow, and overseen by an international “peace council” headed by Trump himself.
The program’s authors did not explain how they intended to impose it on the resistant population, or how they would convince Hamas to disarm and admit defeat. So, there is every possibility that the Blair and Trump fantasies will remain as they are. Whatever its fortunes, it is a clear reflection of our historical moment, and represents the latest surge in an imperial worldview that has already left a trail of devastation across the Middle East.
For Blair, “economics and foreign policy” have long been intertwined. His military adventures in Iraq and Afghanistan attempted to spread the virtues of the market to supposedly backward countries. Created privatization of resources New investment opportunitieswhile a wide range of beneficiaries, from arms dealers to security contractors, have claimed their lives from the wars themselves.
on He left his position in 2007Blair He took office immediately As envoy to the Middle East The so-called quartet: The United Nations, the European Union, the United States, and Russia. His work in Palestine demonstrated the same steadfast belief in free enterprise. He proposed a series ofIndustrial parks“To attract foreign investment, he advocated eccentric agricultural and tourism business ventures, and promoted other projects that raised questions about a potential conflict of interest: while earning £2m a year as a consultant at JP Morgan, for example, he was accused of using his role on the Quartet to attract foreign investment.” Advance interests A client of JP Morgan. (Blair denied the allegations, insisting that he was not aware of the connections between the bank he worked for and the companies he served.)
As an envoy, Blair often bypassed or rejected political solutions. Fight hard Against Palestinian attempts to gain statehood in the United Nations – instead treating the economy as the path to progress. His diplomatic activities seem to have been based on the idea that peace would naturally follow prosperity. If securing the latter is the task of an enterprising statesman, perhaps strong ties with business can be framed as an asset.
However, Blair’s term in the Middle East did not lead to a reduction in the scale of the conflict. In 2012, a senior Palestinian official He gave a brief assessment From his record: “Useless, useless, useless.” However, it appears that the former prime minister, undaunted by failure and loving a dramatic political comeback, is now seeking to apply the same logic to Gaza. From the first months of the war, he was reportedly formulating his plan to “After a day“.
Staff of his think tank, the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change (TBI), I participated in a project Which appeared to support ethnic cleansing in the region and specified what could be built over its mass graves: “Trump’s Riviera,” “Elon Musk’s smart manufacturing zone,” and “regional data centers.” Although Blair’s organization claimed to have had no meaningful involvement in the plan, and rejected the idea of displacing Palestinians, there were a number of continuities in his own scheme, details of which were soon leaked to the press.
The 21-page document, drawn up with the help of Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, proposes Gaza’s reconstruction through “public-private partnerships,” drafted by “a commercially motivated authority, led by business professionals and charged with creating investable projects of real value.” Financial returns“Hamas will be demobilized and a junior, unelected executive will be installed. This.” It will include Blair himself in a prominent role, in addition to “leading international figures with operational and financial experience” and “at least one qualified Palestinian representative (possibly from the business or security sector).” At the same time, the international stabilization force will work to suppress “threats to public order.”
Blair met with Kushner and Trump at the White House on August 27, and his proposals received approval Warm welcome From the president. It has since been revised and rewritten as Trump’s “peace plan.” As with previous versions of the initiative, the focus is on creating a Gaza that is “conducive to attracting investment,” and in which Israel will continue to dominate. Blair is prepared to assume responsibility for governing the Strip until an unspecified future point when day-to-day management can be returned to the “reformed” Palestinian Authority.
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The practical issues are stark. Which countries would be irresponsible enough to Send troops To serve this new dictatorship? How can it hope to sustain itself without mandate or legitimacy? But what is most surprising is the extent to which the plan indicates an overlap between the spirit of Blair and that of Trump.
It is not unreasonable to suggest that Blair might see a business opportunity in the rubble of Gaza. To see who might benefit, we can look at his network of paymasters. Since 2021, he is Larry Ellison, founder of Oracle Technology Donated or pledged £257 million to TBI. The research center, in turn, has turned into what One commenter called out Oracle Agency: Promoting the company’s software around the world, including in poor countries where it has been criticized for potentially “trapping” users and “burdening them with debt.” Ellison is also a prominent supporter of Israel He gave millions To the friends of the IDF, and according to HaaretzHe once offered Benjamin Netanyahu a seat on Oracle’s board of directors. If Blair can govern Gaza – and perhaps establish “regional data centres” in line with the TBI-linked plan – Ellison will likely be able to exercise significant influence.
The Iraqi Trade Bank also received huge sums from authoritarian regimes in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, while Blair was awarded a lucrative consulting contract by the state-owned investment company Mubadala in the United Arab Emirates. All three countries have He readily supported the plan for Gaza. Once the beleaguered pocket opens up for investment, they could be ahead. Blair’s work with these oil kingdoms is consistent with his involvement in the fossil fuel industry, after he received money from an oil company. A consortium led by BPAnd the South Korean oil company PetroSaudi UI Energy CompanyWhich has interests in the Middle East. Since Israel was recently awarded New licenses For oil and gas exploration off the Mediterranean coast, such contacts could prove important later.
Thus, it is possible to read this “peace plan” as an extension of Blair’s belief in market-led development. However, this chapter in the annals of colonialism also has a uniquely Trumpian touch. The New World Order visions that underpinned previous regime change projects have disappeared. Here politics turns into deal-making, and grand strategy into crude self-interest. The fusion of public power and private profits has been completed. Blair may be creating new realities, but few people would want to live in them.