British Prime Minister Tony Blair, seen here 31 July 2006, called for a "complete renaissance" of the global approach to tackling extremism, with as much emphasis on "soft" power as military might.(AFP/POOL/File)
Posted on 08/01/2006 12:13:11 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
British Prime Minister Tony Blair called for an "alliance of moderation" to counter the "arc of extremism" stretching across the Middle East, saying in a speech to be delivered Tuesday that a soft approach is as important as military action.
Blair said he still hoped for a quick end to the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah guerrillas hostilities in southern Lebanon, and once that happens, the global approach to a lasting settlement in the Middle East needs to be reconsidered.
"We will continue to do all we can to halt the hostilities," said Blair in remarks prepared for delivery in a speech later Tuesday to the World Affairs Council in Los Angeles. "But once that has happened, we must commit ourselves to a complete renaissance of our strategy to defeat those that threaten us.
"My argument is this: We will not win the battle against this global extremism unless we win it at the level of values as much as force, unless we show we are evenhanded, fair, and just in our applications of those values to the world."
In the speech, part of which was made available to reporters before delivery, Blair also paid tribute to three British soldiers killed in Afghanistan and another who was killed in the southern Iraqi city of Basra.
The prime minister said Hezbollah attacked Israel simply to provoke retaliation, and to inflame Arab and Muslim opinion against the West. But he remained hopeful that a solution which beings a permanent peace to the volatile region is attainable.
"It's still possible, even now, to come out of this crisis with a better long-term prospect for the cause of moderation in the Middle East succeeding," Blair said. "But it would be absurd not to face up to the immediate damage that has been done."
An "alliance of moderation" is needed to counter the "arc of extremism" now stretching across the Middle East, he said, emphasizing a softer approach which would accompany the military tactics already in place.
"Unless we reappraise our strategy, unless we revitalize the broader global agenda on poverty, climate change, trade, and, in respect of the Middle East, bend every sinew of our will to making peace between Israel and Palestine, we will not win," Blair said.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair, seen here 31 July 2006, called for a "complete renaissance" of the global approach to tackling extremism, with as much emphasis on "soft" power as military might.(AFP/POOL/File)
Prime Minister Tony Blair speaks at a private reception at the Getty Villa in Malibu, California on July 31. Blair has paid tribute to four British soldiers who were killed in separate attacks in Iraq and Afghanistan.(AFP/Pool/Mario Anzuoni)
yeah, Al Qaeda and Hezbollah are worried about climate change.
We need moderate slaughtering of jews and infidels?
Alliance of Moderation
Axis of Evil
Coalition of the Willing
what's next?
Committee of the Humdrum?
Panel of the Iranian Other-Way-Lookers?
Subset of the Appeasers?
Braintrust of the Tepid?
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