Epiphanies: Tony Blair

"I entered politics because I realized I was not going to play for Newcastle United and I was never going to be Mick Jagger."

By Katherine Yester

October 1, 2009, 6:24 PM

I WENT TO SEE Gen. [Pervez] Musharraf in Islamabad about four years ago. I remember going into his room, just the two of us. We were trying to get Pakistan's help in the war against terrorism. And I said to him, 'So, what can we do to help you?' And he just said, 'Palestine. A peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians.' I expected to hear that in Riyadh or Cairo or Ramallah, but I didn't expect to hear that in Islamabad.

I WENT TO SEE Gen. [Pervez] Musharraf in Islamabad about four years ago. I remember going into his room, just the two of us. We were trying to get Pakistan’s help in the war against terrorism. And I said to him, ‘So, what can we do to help you?’ And he just said, ‘Palestine. A peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians.’ I expected to hear that in Riyadh or Cairo or Ramallah, but I didn’t expect to hear that in Islamabad.

THE BIG THING FOR ME [as Middle East envoy] has been to go there and experience the life of the Israelis, the life of the Palestinians. It’s only when you get out, and you see it with your own eyes and hear it with your own ears, and you touch and feel and smell the politics, that you get a sense of how to resolve [the problem].

THE FIRST THING you’ve got to contradict is the belief that [Middle East peace] is hopeless. The second thing you’ve got to contradict is the belief that if you lock people in a room, they’re going to come out with [a] peace settlement. They’re not. It’s gone too far for that.

[WHAT DO I MISS LEAST?] You mean, besides Prime Minister’s Questions?

THERE’S MASSIVE SYMBOLIC POWER in resolving this dispute. Elements within the region and within Palestine try so hard to stop the resolution because they know the symbolic power of peace. They know that if America and Europe were involved in peacemaking between Israel and Palestine, it’d be very hard to rouse up their people against the iniquities of America.

THE PROBLEM FOR THE WORLD today is that globalization is pushing people together. Actually, I think that’s a good thing. There will, however, be reactionary forces against that. And if religious faith becomes the focal point of reaction, it would be very dangerous. So, to me, [interfaith dialogue] is a major part of making the world work.

I ENTERED POLITICS because I realized I was not going to play for Newcastle United and I was never going to be Mick Jagger.

Tony Blair, special envoy to the Middle East, was prime minister of Britain from 1997 to 2007.