Wednesday 5 October 2011

Abunimah: Blair and Quartet need to be removed

While the US reaffirms its intention to veto any bid for Palestinian statehood, the Middle East Quartet plays its own appointed role in protecting and advancing Israel's vital interests.

At the same time, Tony Blair has used his position as Quartet 'peace envoy' to advocate unashamedly for Israel while enriching himself in the process.

With criticism of Blair also now coming from inside Mahmoud Abbas's Palestinian Authority, the complicit role of the Quartet - as well as the PA itself - is increasingly apparent.

In a searing indictment, Ali Abunimah argues that Blair's blatant profiteering and deception raises larger questions about the Quartet's own status, purpose and funding.

Noting the recent Dispatches exposure of Blair's lucrative dealings with dictatorships across the Middle East, Abunimah discusses how the Quartet has facilitated that patronage while locking the Palestinians into a spurious 'peace agenda'.

The time has come, he says, not just to remove Blair but to dismantle the Quartet.

John

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Quartet(te) ? Nato ? It is no less then tragic for those with a vestige of memory that the UN, notably the General assembly, has been totally side-lined by the Big Powers in the war-making of the last 20-30 years. Poor old Gaddafi, in his rambling rant (of course) at the UN, had that right, at least- the US and its pack of puppies has torn up the UN Charter so often that hardly a shred survives. Gordon's mock indignation when Gaddafi tore up a copy of the Charter was sickening to observe.The puppy-dog media's ridicule of Gaddafi naturally distracted attention from the gist of what the strange Libyan said.