The fog of war, Blair and Gaza
Of course what Israel is doing in Gaza is not war but genocide. However the adage that truth is the first casualty of war remains the case.
Israeli Governments have a long history of dissembling. That doesn’t mean to say that they never speak the truth but rather that they lie so much that it becomes impossible to know. Much media is at least aware of this point and seeks to verify statements from Tel Aviv.
One statement recently made in Israeli media was that Tony Blair is helping to find countries people Israel wants out of Gaza to go to.
Interestingly, perhaps uniquely, this has resulted in a statement from the Tony Blair Institute which says it is a lie and confirms that people living in Gaza have a right to stay there.
Taken at face value the statement is welcome but the fog of war perhaps obscures other agendas. The Tony Blair Institute is a significant global business and while its possible that Blair has recalled that he once had an ethical foreign policy, its also possible that being linked with Netanyahu is bad for business*.
Blair of course was the Middle East Peace Envoy which seemed to make, shall we say, limited progress. But he did tell the Financial Times before Christmas that he had recently met Netanyahu.
Perhaps the reality is that Israeli action in Gaza means its just not convenient to pursue that in the public domain now.
*Middle East Countries the Tony Blair Institute advises (Times 2nd Jan)
Bahrain
Kuwait
Oman
Qatar
Saudi Arabia
UAE
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