Tony Blair displays his political paranoia on BBCR4 World at One

Those who make peaceful revolution impossible, make violent revolution inevitable

-President JF Kennedy

^Photo by Nevine Zaki; second > by unnamed friend 

The BBC World at One has just had the war criminal Tony Blair on, talking about the Egyptian uprising. Predictably, he wants the impossible: he wants to be "certain" of the final outcome, certain that the incoming democratic Egyptian Government will continue with Mubarak's condoning of Israel's  oppressive policy towards Gaza.

There is no certainty in any political future, only probability.

The overwhelming probability is that the incoming democratic Government of Egypt will be secular, on the grounds that the revolution is predominantly secular. The Muslim Brotherhood is elderly and moderate, and has played a minor role in the revolution. There are many inspiring acts of friendship between Muslims in Tahrir. Muslims joined in Christian chants in Tahrir Square today. A month ago, Muslims protected Christians while they were celebrating Christmas.

When we have no final probability, our actions must be led by faith.  Blair's faith is in his belief in the inherent rightness of the American policy wonks whose word he worships, covering all his errors in blind religious faith.

Our faith, on the other hand, is in democracy.

This peace and co-operation is of course in the face of a common enemy, but if it is built on, out of a common victory over the dictatorship, it can help lead the whole world out of the absurd and irrational religious divide between Christian and Muslim fundamentalism, a divide that has no place in the 21st century.

We have ecological and economic problems to overcome. Artificial differences based on centuries old cognitive constructs have no relevance to humanity today. Which is not to say we should ignore the unacceptable practices of Muslim cultures such as mutilation or stoning, any more than we should ignore unacceptable practices of so-called Christian cultures such as nuclear terrorism and  overlordship of the corporations.


Paranoia of Islamic extremism entertained by Western leaders lies behind the outrageous failure of Obama and the West to tell Mubarak to leave office. The more they prevaricate, the greater the danger that the revolution could be crushed like the Green revolution in Iran, or in a dreadful Arabic equivalent of Tiananmen Square,

If that happened, Egypt would end up as a pariah state, and the frustration of the revolutionaries would inevitably turn inwards, causing some to turn to suicide bombings.

In this way, politicians like war criminal Blair find that what you resist is what you get.


Blair, you are no JFK

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See Also
Mubarak: why will Obama not tell him publicly to go?

West has to accept Egyptian Democracy, Muslim Brotherhood warts and all