FLASH
Shkruar nga Roberto Vivaldelli
Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair has become a protagonist in recent days. He has published a book where he 'advises' others, but "Inside Over" has 'massacred' Edi Rama's advisor. (The Albanian prime minister is among the many people who pay to be remembered). According to the Italian media, he is responsible for thousands of innocent deaths from the military intervention in Iraq.
More than a quarter of a century has passed since Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair KG, known as Tony Blair, became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in May 1997. His election, after 18 uninterrupted years of Conservative government, was seen as a breath of fresh air from the British working class, which had never digested the neoliberalism of the "Iron Lady" Margaret Thatcher. Then, on the social-economic front, the young Tony Blair embraced the "third way" and transformed Labor into a party that was more of the center than the left, betraying many of the promises made to the same working class. After leaving Downing Street in 2007, Blair devoted himself to various activities: special envoy to the Quartet for the Middle East (2007-2015), he founded his own "philanthropic" organization, the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change , in 2016, becoming a consultant to various governments and world leaders. (Including the government of Edi Rama)
The new book of the former prime minister
The former prime minister, at the age of 71, has now decided to publish his new book "Leadership", the art of governance, the first volume published by "Silvio Berlusconi Editore", the new publishing house founded by Marina Berlusconi, president of Fininvest and Mondadori. The press appreciates him, starting with the "Guardian", which devoted a long article to the essay in which advice is given on the art of government. Tony Blair reflects on the stages of leadership: in the first, according to him, leaders are acceptable because they are aware of their inexperience. In the second, they believe they know everything, become arrogant and less willing to listen, which makes them vulnerable. Maturity, in the third stage, comes with the realization that their experience is not complete, prompting them to rediscover humility and learn again. In Italy, La Repubblica newspaper, which describes him as a "master of leadership" in its headline, notes that he is the only Labor member in history to have been elected to Downing Street three times in a row.
Dear Blair, What can you tell us about Iraq?
So far, so good. Or almost. Can we really learn anything from a leader who, in 2003, along with then US President George W. Bush, promoted the invasion of Saddam Hussein's Iraq based on false information given to the media and public opinion? It's good to remember some numbers. According to several sources, including the Iraq Body Count project, the number of Iraqi civilian casualties is estimated at between 150,000 and 200,000. But according to other studies, such as that of the Lancet magazine and other academic sources, the total number of deaths, including combatants and civilians, may exceed one million.
That war, largely sought by Bush and Blair, also caused a major humanitarian crisis, with millions of Iraqis forced to flee their homes. An estimated 4.7 million people were internally displaced or sought refuge abroad during and after the conflict. Not to mention another very serious aspect: the destabilization of Iraq after the 2003 invasion of the Anglo-Americans and their allies created a favorable context for the birth and growth of ISIS-Daesh terrorists. The fall of Saddam Hussein's regime led to a power vacuum, exacerbated by sectarian tensions between Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds, in which jihadist extremism spread. In short, a disaster from every point of view.
The report that nails the former prime minister
It is not a matter of opinion. There is a report that nails Tony Blair in his responsibilities. The Chilcot Commission, formally known as the Iraq Inquiry, published its report in 2016, examining the UK's involvement in the 2003 Iraq War, after the United States accused Saddam Hussein of possessing those weapons of mass destruction, which, as we know, did not exist. Too bad, as the report itself proved, the intelligence used to justify the war was "inaccurate and unjustified", something Tony Blair knew full well.
Not to mention the total lack of foresight and planning: The commission has actually criticized Blair and his government for not adequately planning for the aftermath of the conflict, particularly the post-war management of Iraq, which led to a long instability, death and violence. In short, Tony Blair was anything but a visionary leader and promoted a war that cost hundreds of thousands of lives. But in the West of double standards, even a politician like Tony Blair can become a "master of leadership". Either way, as Bob Dylan sang in 1963, he is one of the Masters of War, one of the many warlords of recent history. / Adapted "Pamphlet" from "Inside Over"
Lini një Përgjigje