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Tony Blair appeals to Colonel Gaddafi to step down
28 Feb 2011Tony Blair made a personal plea to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi urging him to step down from power, it has been revealed.
In an interview with The Times, the former prime minister confirmed he made two telephone calls to the embattled dictator asking him to stop the bloodshed, but said his requests were rebuked. He also claimed the embattled dictator was in "denial" about events in the North African state.
Mr Blair said: "I am not going to say any more than this - that what I asked him to do is consistent with the message from the international community and his message was the message he has given publicly. He was in denial that these things are going on.
"There is now one major strategic objective and the rest is a question of tactical decisions. The strategic objective is that there is a change in leadership in Libya with the minimum further bloodshed. Far too many people have died; there has been far too much violence."
Mr Blair, who spoke to Mr Gaddafi twice on Friday, continued: "The single most important thing is that this ends as quickly as possible with him standing aside and a new leadership taking over."
The Middle East peace envoy also defended his decision to bring Colonel Gaddafi back into the international fold, signing a deal in 2004 following Libya's climbdown over a programme to develop weapons of mass destruction.
He said: "Is it a good thing that Libya went from being a state sponsoring terrorism to a state co-operating in the fight against it? Surely the answer must be yes.
"Is it a good thing it went from being a state developing nuclear and chemical capability to a benign state that gave up? The answer must be yes."
He added: "I am as appalled as anyone else about what has been happening. It is awful to think that people should die in this way.
"But the reason we brought Libya from a position of being ostracised by the international community into the community of nations was precisely because they changed their policy externally in a way that was extremely important for our own security and that of the rest of the world."
Labour leader Ed Miliband today defended Mr Blair's decision to try to bring Colonel Gaddafi in from the cold in return for giving up WMD programmes.
He told BBC1's Breakfast: "I think, at that time, given that there seemed no prospect of a popular uprising in Libya, and given that there was a danger of Libya acquiring nuclear weapons, what Tony Blair did was get the weapons inspectors into Libya. I think, actually, that was the right thing to do.
"I think we must be careful about second-guessing that decision, but I think now a lot of the old assumptions about the Middle East and that region turn out to be misplaced, because there is clearly a popular will, which we see on the streets of Libya, for change.
"I support that change and I support the idea that Colonel Gaddafi should go."
Mr Miliband also called for a rethink of UK policy on weapons exports, saying: "We do need to look at the policy on arms sales. We do need to look at how it is implemented, because we don't want to see British arms being used for internal repression."
Reader views (20)
Cameron started "hug a hoodie" and Blair started the hugging Gadaffi movement. Mendelson hugged loads of mafia types on their yachts. What must the World really think of us? It now looks as if Andrew has been hugging for free on his so called trade mission. We are such a hugging lot.
- Charly, London, 01/03/2011 13:24
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Tony Blair (TB)is a common and in some cases deadly infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, ...How much longer do we have to suffer the deadly disease "Tony Blair"
- Ian Chalmers, London, uk, 01/03/2011 12:31
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These persons are " two of a kind ".
- Davey-buoy, Chertsey, 28/02/2011 22:09
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One would have to ask, who is the most evil? Mubarrak, Gadaffi or the mass murdering hypocrite and money grabbing Blair? If their is a god who would dare to forgive Blair then I want to remain godless. At least with the other two maniacs you knew where they were coming from from.
- Jimmy, Camden London, 28/02/2011 20:19
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Val Daniels,
I am quite worried about you.
Are you feeling all right?
- Anglo, The Heart of England, 28/02/2011 20:04
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Val Daniels,,
Blair has as much blood or more than Gaddafi will ever have,, you must be blind if you can't see that. You have to earn respect, Bliar lost the UK's respect years ago!!
- Trafalgar Dreadnought Sherwood, UK, 28/02/2011 19:25
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Blair's hypocisy is truly staggering. He alleges he is "appalled that people should die in this way". He ordered the killing of hundreds of thousands of innocent people in Iraq and is still travelling the globe amassing a fortune by boasting about his term in office. The man is repugnant.
- R.F.Yorke, Yorks, UK, 28/02/2011 19:16
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stuart, chesterfield
How`s about using the name itself;
blair - n. contempt
As in, "I have utter blair for dog poo in the street"
- Rowland, Kingston up the Thames, 28/02/2011 19:01
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Nice picture of the deluded megalomaniac. Gaddafi doesn't look too bad either.
- Nick, Wembley, 28/02/2011 18:02
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Go on Tony, take a trip to Libya and have a word with your let-wing lunatic mate before you both dash off to Venezuela to see your Marxist buddy where we hope you all live happily ever after.
- Guy, Croydon, 28/02/2011 17:27
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Totally agree with Pat. What kind of work do Envoys do? Think if Prince Andrew - another useless 'Envoy'. We could really save some money by disposing of both.
- Volpone, Stoke Newington, London, 28/02/2011 17:04
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I have scoured both the Oxford English Dictionary and Roget's Theosaurus to find a word that describes the utter contempt I feel for our political class's and have singularly failed.
- stuart, chesterifeld,derbyshire, 28/02/2011 16:43
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Nice of Tony to stop counting his money for a while, to help out in the Middle East.
He does seems to be a bit late to the party though, given his job as a middle east peace envoy. Maybe he only does the job for the last few days of each month?
- Martin, London, 28/02/2011 15:54
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This totally obnoxious warmonger was interviewed on today's lunchtime news from what seemed to be his ritzy hotel in Jerusalem. The hypocracy, double standards and deceit oozes from him whilst he rakes it in for being the "Middle East Peace Envoy" where, up until today he has done precisely NOTHING except travel business class between London and Israel and then put up with the humiliation and contempt heaped on him by the Israeli Government who "don't want to know".
I have news for him, show a bit of balance, honesty and straight dealing by speaking out on the daily atrocities committed by the Israeli Defence Forces against the Palestinians, they are happening two hundred yards from your hotel and a few miles south lies Gaza, go there and look at a living hell caused by Israel. Go a few miles to the north, to south Lebanon and see another living hell caused by Israel. But no, Libya is an easy target for his crocodile anger and outrage, he hasn't got the guts, decency or honour to go for a much bigger villain when it daily stares him in the face within a couple of minutes walk of his hotel. There is just no stopping the gall of this man, how can he stare at himself in the mirror.
- M. Clift., Worcester., 28/02/2011 15:19
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How unkind.
The colonel did not ask Phony Blur to stand down.
No gratitude.
- Anglo, The Heart of England, 28/02/2011 15:01
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I can imagine the conversation: "Look, speaking as one blood soaked little moron to another all I can say is, well, life's pretty good after retirement and the money's sort of, out of this world"
- Steve, Brentford, 28/02/2011 14:17
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Val Daniels, Mijas Costa.
Wow! A Blair supporter! They`re difficult to find of course, since only 1 in 5 of the electorate was all it took to commit us to 13 years of New Labour.
As for his telephone call to his soon to be deposed buddy in Tripoli . . . . . the only `cojones` involved there is the kick in them that Muammar has felt now that all the money that Tony and Gordon let him stash away in Britain is being witheld.
- Rowland, Kingston up the Thames, 28/02/2011 13:35
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Same old rants on here from the usual suspects. At least he has the cojones to intercede personally, and not stand shouting from the sidelines like the slick PR arms salesman currently occupying Downing Street.
- Val Daniels, Mijas Costa Spain, 28/02/2011 11:34
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He added: "I am as appalled as anyone else about what has been happening. It is awful to think that people should die in this way"
How big a hypocrite is Blair!!!! He is a war-monger who lost innocent young lives in his 'fake' war for oil. The man should have stood trial for war crimes!
- Tony, Essex, 28/02/2011 11:19
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Bliar should be banged up in the same goal as Gaddafi, they are both liars and guilty of crimes against humanity!!.
- pat, Croydon, 28/02/2011 10:26
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