Tony Blair, Prime Minister of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (1997-2007), penned this op-ed piece that ran in The Times as well as the Wall Street Journal. In it, he discusses why the rest of the world should have an active interest in what is taking place in Libya.
Mr. Blair will be the opening keynote speaker at the 2011 PLUS International Conference November 2-4, 2011 in San Diego. Mark your calendar now so you don’t miss the chance to hear an international leader address the pressures shaping our world.
Here is the beginning and link to the article:
The crisis in Libya has forced back on to the agenda all the tough choices of modern-day foreign policy. Should we intervene? Do we do so for moral reasons as well as those of national interests? How do we balance the need for a policy that is strong, assertive and well articulated with the desire not to appear overmighty and arrogant, disrespecting others and their culture?
Two preliminary points must be made. In today’s world the distinction between moral outrage and strategic interests can be false. In a region where our strategic interests are dramatically and profoundly engaged, it is unlikely that the effect of a regime going rogue and brutalising its own people will remain isolated within its own borders. If Colonel Gaddafi were allowed to kill large numbers of Libyans to squash the hope of a different Libya, we shouldn’t be under any illusion. We could end up with a pariah government at odds with the international community — wounded but still alive and dangerous. We would send a signal of Western impotence in an area that analyses such signals keenly. We would dismay those agitating for freedom, boosting opposition factions hostile to us.
This underlines the other preliminary point: inaction is also a decision, a policy with consequence. The wish to keep out of it all is entirely understandable; but it is every bit as much a decision as acting.
Read the full article here on The Office of Tony Blair website.
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