I’ve resisted posting much here about the recent London bombings or their aftermath. There’ve been plenty of offline conversations, but I’ve been wanting to let some of the dust settle before writing on the subject. We were glad to hear that none of our friends or family in the city were hurt, and glad of the ease of communication that brought that news.
Unfortunately, Tony Blair’s statements, reported in the Observer yesterday, implying that changing British foreign policy is not an appropriate response to the attacks seem remarkably superficial. British foreign policy was changed sharply in the wake of the twin-towers attacks (in that case, towards war with Iraq) and it is entirely right and proper that it should be reassessed.
The many possible counter-arguments to Blair’s kneejerk comments (particularly with regards to Palestine, Afghanistan and, of course, Iraq) aside, I wonder if Blair might not be better off for a quick reading of Matt Webb’s excellent post to be found here (under the title “one of my mum’s dogs”). The past four years of “war on terror” have been disastrous and these attacks need to be the starting point for a radically new approach. This is not a time for defensiveness.
Tags: Tony Blair | Foreign Policy | Incentives