The former British PM should follow up by personal example on his calls not to abandon Afghanistan
By Andrew Mitrovica
29 Aug 2021
Robert Fisk would not be amused.
Rather, I suspect, the late and unparalleled marquee columnist for the online British newspaper, The Independent, would, at the least, be bemused by the cyber-pamphlet’s bewildering decision to republish a 2,700-word piece of exculpatory blather penned by Tony Blair – a preening, historically illiterate dilettante Fisk detested.
Providing Blair with prime editorial real estate represents a curious and surprising volte-face, given that, not too long ago, a senior editor scolded the former prime minister in a pointed “Letter from the Deputy Editor” for having “crawl[ed] out of the woodwork to deny any responsibility for the worsening security situation in Iraq.”
The derisive note ended with this sharp indictment: “But whatever you think of his recent outburst…Mr Blair is right about one thing: the whole of the Middle East is under threat. He just needs to accept the part he played in its downfall.”
I take it that all is forgiven as The Independent has seen fit to permit Blair to crawl out of the woodwork again and share his latest windy “outburst” with readers.
I doubt Fisk would have welcomed or endorsed The Independent’s sorry, click-driven bout of amnesia.
Over many years and in many columns, Fisk excoriated Blair using deliciously blunt language. I revisited Fisk’s prolific catalogue to gather his thoughts about the unrepentant warmonger and his catastrophic obstinance to reshape Iraq and Afghanistan, since it appears The Independent’s editors have forgotten.
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