Globalisation has made military intervention in rogue regimes overseas more necessary than ever, Tony Blair argues in his memoirs. Not toppling Robert Mugabe, the president of Zimbabwe, is one regret voiced by the former prime minister.
His belief that Iran needs to be confronted in its nuclear ambitions and as a last resort prevented by force shines through. The experience of Iraq and Afghanistan has not diminished his commitment to taking on opponents.
His appetite for international affairs, he admits, has been sharpened by his role as a mediator in the Middle East. "Personally I have never felt a greater sense of frustration or indeed a greater urge to leadership," he writes in his postscript.
But it was the Balkans that formed the crucible for his new policy of liberal interventionism. "My awakening over foreign policy was ... abrupt," he explains. "It happened over Kosovo."
Distinctions between foreign and domestic policy are breaking down as consequence of globalisation, he maintains. Television news beams foreign crises into every living room. "The world [is] interconnected not just economically or in self-interest but emotionally, the heart as well as the head."
Looking back he admits he was surprised: "The 1997 campaign was fought almost exclusively on a domestic policy basis. If you had told me on that bright May morning as I first went blinking into Downing Street that during my time in office I would commit Britain to fight four wars, I would have been bewildered and horrified."
And he's especially serious about Iran's nuclear program.
The west should use force against Iran if it "continues to develop nuclear weapons", Tony Blair said today, aligning himself with US hawks who have called for strikes against Iranian nuclear sites.
By: Brant
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