Middle East mediators near deal on Blair as envoy

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

Middle East mediators near deal on Blair as envoy
25 Jun 2007 15:32:38 GMT
Source: Reuters

By Adam Entous

JERUSALEM, June 25 (Reuters) - Tony Blair could be named
to a top post in Middle East peacemaking as early as Tuesday,
diplomats said before a meeting in Jerusalem between U.S.
and other international officials to discuss the appointment.

Blair steps down as British prime minister on Wednesday and
officials are working to define the role he would play as
envoy for the Quartet of international peace brokers -- the
United States, the European Union, the United Nations and
Russia.

His appointment is expected to top the agenda in talks on
Tuesday in Jerusalem between officials representing U.S.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, U.N. Secretary-
General Ban Ki-moon, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana
and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

"There are consultations going on between members of the
Quartet and the UK about appointing Tony Blair as Quartet
envoy to the Palestinians," a European diplomat said.
"I cannot say whether there is a result, but I expect a
result possibly on Tuesday when the Quartet envoys meet,
perhaps even sooner."

-snip-

Read more: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L2564881.htm

[Tom Joad]

1. What a nightmare! This man is guilty of war crimes against Arab people

seems like the logical choice for bush/cheney crowd.

Yet this still is an astonishing and brazen attack on human rights and an attack on Peace.

[LeftishBrit]

2. Why do people ALWAYS choose the least suitable person for the job!

[whistle]

3. Tony Blair now will speak for the United States of America

...the ultimate outsourcing of the U.S. State Department.

This country began its fight for independence from Great Britain with the United States Declaration of Independence, which was an act of the Second Continental Congress, adopted on July 4, 1776, and declared that the Thirteen Colonies were independent of the Kingdom of Great Britain.

After a long fight for independence which lasted over seven years, a delegation from the former American Colonies consisting of John Jay, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Henry Laurens, and William Temple Franklin met with the British commissioners to draft and sign the Treaty of Paris of 1783. The treaty signed on September 3, 1783, and ratified by the Congress of the Confederation on January 14, 1784, formally ending the American Revolutionary War between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and the United States of America.

<snip>
Key points of the Treaty of Paris were:

- Recognizing the 13 colonies as free and sovereign States with

<1>;

- Establishing the boundaries between the United States and British North America

; (for an account of two strange anomalies resulting from this part of the Treaty, based on inaccuracies in the Mitchell Map, see Northwest Angle and the Republic of Indian Stream)

- Granting fishing rights to United States fishermen in the Grand Banks, off the coast of Newfoundland and in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence

;

- Recognizing the lawful contracted debts to be paid to creditors on either side

;

- United States Congress will "earnestly recommend" to state legislatures to recognize the rightful owners of all confiscated lands "provide for the restitution of all estates, rights, and properties, which have been confiscated belonging to real British subjects ". ;

- United States will prevent future confiscations of the property of Loyalists

;

- Prisoners of war on both sides are to be released and all property left by British army in the United States unmolested (including slaves)

;

- Great Britain and the United States were each to be given perpetual access to the Mississippi River

;

- Territories captured by Americans subsequent to treaty will be returned without compensation

;

- Ratification of the treaty was to occur within six months from the signing by the contracting parties

<MORE>

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Paris_(1783)

[Eugene]

4. Scepticism hangs over Blair's appointment as quartet envoy

Source: The Guardian

Scepticism hangs over Blair's appointment as quartet envoy

· Former PM to help build Palestinian institutions
· No formal role in finding permanent solution

Ian Black, Julian Borger, and Rory McCarthy in Jerusalem
Thursday June 28, 2007
The Guardian

Tony Blair is to make his first working visit to Ramallah in the
West Bank next month as envoy of the quartet of Middle East
peacemakers, it emerged yesterday, after his job was confirmed
amid scepticism about any chance of his success.

-snip-

They stopped short of giving Mr Blair an explicit role as mediator
between the Israelis and Palestinians in the peace process, but
did give a broad remit to "liaise with other countries as appropriate
in support of the agreed quartet objectives". Sources close to
Mr Blair said he expected his role to be bigger than that assigned
to his predecessor, James Wolfensohn, a former World Bank
president who resigned in frustration in April 2006 after focusing
just on the economy, on preparation for Israeli withdrawal from
Gaza.

Mr Blair sees his role as preparing ground for eventual talks on a
final, comprehensive settlement by Palestinians and Israelis, with
his immediate task to help to halt the violence between Fatah
and Hamas and heal the divide.

His appointment left some egos battered and generated
controversy. Russia demanded last minute changes to the terms
of reference, clarifying his precise status. Mr Blair also spoke
to Vladimir Putin, Russia's president.

-snip-

Read more: http://politics.guardian.co.uk/foreignaffairs/story/0,,2113170,00.html