"There are two types of politician, Tony Blair observed in 2012. Reality creators and reality managers. While postwar politics was generally a matter of steady management, he claimed, the emerging order called for more creativity, both in the economy and foreign policy. Only a particular type of visionary leader was fit for the task. More than a decade later, Blair has now joined forces with the pre-eminent reality-creator, Donald Trump, to draft a hallucinatory 20-point plan for Gaza."
"It aims to turn the devastated Strip into what seems to resemble a colonial protectorate: cleansed of armed conflict, buzzing with development projects and a special economic zone through which foreign capital can flow, and overseen by an international board of peace with Trump himself as chair. The authors of the programme have not explained how they intend to impose it on a resistant population."
"For Blair, the economy and foreign policy have long been entwined. His military adventures in Iraq and Afghanistan tried to spread the virtues of the market to supposedly backward nations. The privatisation of resources created new investment opportunities, while a wide range of profiteers, from weapons dealers to security contractors, made a killing off the wars themselves. Upon leaving office in 2007, Blair immediately took up a post as Middle East envoy for the so-called Quartet: the United Nations, European Union, United States and Russia."
The Blair–Trump plan envisions transforming Gaza into a securitized development zone resembling a colonial protectorate, with an international board overseeing reconstruction and investment. The proposal centers on economic projects, special economic zones, and foreign capital flows while expecting Hamas to disarm and cede control. No clear mechanism for imposing the plan on a resistant population or forcing militant disarmament is provided. The plan reflects a historical pattern of intertwining foreign policy with market-driven interventions, exemplified by past military campaigns that facilitated privatization and generated profits for contractors and suppliers.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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