The former British Prime Minister who sounded the trumpet in 1999 for full-scale war against the Westphalian world order, and then lied the U.S. into the Iraq War, now demands the West threaten a direct NATO-Russia confrontation, and possible use of nuclear weapons, in order to defeat “those opposed to our [sic] way of life—based on liberal democracy.” Notably, Blair reports that he is a player in Ukraine, visiting it at least once a year since 2007, with the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change having a “long-standing project” in that country.
Blair made his case for threatening nuclear war in his position paper, “The Immediate Challenge in Ukraine: Maximum Pressure Combined with Structured Negotiation,” posted to his institute’s website on March 15: (https://institute.global/tony-blair/immediate-challenge-ukraine-maximum-pressure-combined-structured-negotiation)
“I understand and accept that there is not political support for any direct military engagement by NATO of Russia. But we should be clear-eyed about what Putin is doing. He is using our correct desire not to provoke escalation alongside his willingness to escalate as a bargaining chip against us…. [T]here is something incongruous about our repeated reassurance to him that we will not react with force….
“But suppose he uses chemical weapons or a tactical nuclear weapon, or tries to destroy Kyiv as he did Aleppo [sic] in Syria, without any regard to the loss of civilian life—is it sensible to tell him in advance that whatever he does militarily, we will rule out any form of military response? Maybe that is our position and maybe that is the right position, but continually signaling it, and removing doubt in his mind, is a strange tactic,” Blair wrote.
The West failed to carry through on previous wars and missed opportunities for others, he complains, citing Georgia, Syria, Crimea, Afghanistan “and to a degree” Iraq, the Sahel—a demonstration of “decadence” by the West which must not be repeated now.
Blair welcomes the Ukrainian conflict as an opportunity to get the West finally marching lock-step again to the British imperial drummer. Already, the Transatlantic alliance has been revived; NATO has a new purpose in life; Germany is rearming. More increases in defense spending are now required. The alliance must draw in other “democratic nations,” with India requiring “special focus.” Soft power must be “unashamedly” mobilized vs. Africa and the “Middle East.” While Blair recommends that the West not lump China together with Russia, since “we cannot afford disengagement” from China, he views relations with China as the “geopolitical challenge of the 21st century.” China smells our “weakness and uncertainty,” and now the Belt and Road has given China “a foothold over large swathes of the world,” while President Xi confidently tells the Chinese people that their system is superior to ours, “a claim never made by previous China leaders.”
“The tragedy of Ukraine is our wake-up call. We are awake. Now we must act,” saith Blair.
