MIDEAST:  Blair Plays Dubious Statesman
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LONDON, Sep 11 (IPS) - It was not perhaps the best day for British Prime  Minister Tony Blair to talk peace in Lebanon. The date was a  reminder how closely Britain led by Blair has backed the U.S. led  'war on terror' since those attacks in New York and  Washington five years back.
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Tony Blair should be given a broader role as Middle East envoy, say Palestinian negotiators.
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British Prime Minister Tony Blair is attempting to win back political support by recalibrating his policy in the Middle East, but it is likely to prove too late to save his job.
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WASHINGTON -- In his new role as Middle East envoy, Tony Blair will be charged with shoring up Palestinian institutions, but not with trying to nail down a peace deal between Israelis and Palestinians because Condoleezza Rice, the secretary of state, is handling that job herself, administration officials said yesterday.
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Tony Blair's domestic woes followed him to Israel, but he pointedly refused to elaborate on his departure from office, calling questions about it here &quot;disrespectful.&quot;
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Tony Blair said on Tuesday he saw possibilities in his first visit to the Middle East as an international envoy but cautioned it was too early to tell whether they could be translated into concrete results.
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Take Tony Blair in Brighton last week. The prime minister's speech to the Labour conference was unusual for him as he abandoned his habitual messianic tone.
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Tony Blair's visit to the Middle East and his plans for a 2005 London conference on reform in the Palestinian Authority get a muted welcome in the regional press.
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British Prime Minister Tony Blair will  call on Wednesday for Middle East states to rein in what he  calls the threat from Iran and to help advance peacemaking  between Israelis and Palestinians.
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The four sponsors of the stagnant Middle East peace process met Tuesday for the first time since Hamas seized Gaza, amid mounting speculation that outgoing British Prime Minister Tony Blair could be anointed their new envoy.
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British Prime Minister Tony Blair will call on Wednesday for Middle East states to rein in what he calls the threat from Iran and to help advance peacemaking between Israelis and Palestinians.
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Just hours after a surprise visit to Iraq, British Prime Minister Tony Blair visited Israel to launch a new push for peace. Blair met with Israeli and Palestinian leaders in Tel Aviv.
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Tony Blair was named the international envoy to the Middle East to spearhead efforts to create a Palestinian state, hours after stepping down as British prime minister.
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RAMALLAH, West Bank  - Tony Blair said on Tuesday there was a new "moment of opportunity" in the Middle East but cautioned in his first visit as an international envoy against expecting any peace breakthrough soon.
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Two and a half weeks ago, the shadows that had hung over Tony Blair&#39;s prime ministership since the end of major combat operations in Iraq suddenly fell especially dark.
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In a much-noted speech last week, Israelâs Prime Minister Ariel Sharon ostensibly made a dramatic reversal in course. But I am wondering whether to take his shift at face value.
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Investor's Business Daily - Former British PM Tony Blair kicked off his first visit to the Middle East as the international community&#39;s new envoy to the region, hoping to add momentum to fledgling peace efforts between Israel and the Palestinians. During the 2-day visit, Blair planned to meet with Israeli PM Ehud Olmert, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and other top officials.