Why I Love Tony Blair

When I think back to the horrible days surrounding the 9/11/01 terrorist attacks, only one man stands out in my memory for his eloquence, his moral vision, and his confidence. The man I have in mind is not George w. Bush. Nor is it Rudi Giuliani. I am thinking of Tony Blair, the British prime minister who spoke more effectively to the American people during those horrible days than anyone else.

What did Blair say? When asked about the terrorist strikes he immediately referred to the German air attacks on Britain in 1940-1941. As British citizens pulled together, so would the American people. As the Americans came to British aid against the Germans, so would the British come to American aid against terrorists. Blair did not have a blueprint for action, but he had a sense of the historical moment and a clear purpose. He was not militant; he was thoughtful and passionate.

These very qualities got Blair into trouble in Iraq. He allowed his anger at the terrorists and his loyalty to the United States to blind him to the perils of a preventive war, fought with insufficient forces. Moral vision was not sufficient to occupy and re-make a society as complex as Iraq. Blair's tragic misstep ultimately cost him the prime ministership -- an office he will vacate under a cloud of controversy at the end of June.

We must not, however, lump Blair in with the other misguided interventionists. Unlike Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, and others, Blair did not act recklessly. He took a strong and deeply personal stand against what he believed were some of the sources of violence, intolerance, and irrationality in the Middle East. He took a strong and deeply personal stand on behalf of a British-American bond that he described in nearly sacred terms. Despite the consequences, these were courageous positions that deserve respect. Blair tried to offer real leadership, transcending simple phrases and shallow postures.

We will miss Blair's voice in the years to come. We will miss his ability to speak with moral sincerity, as he did on 9/11/01. Most of all, we will miss his efforts to build a stronger British-American relationship. Blair was the most impressive leader of the last half decade, and more. None of his emerging successors in Great Britain, continental Europe, or even the US appear comparable. We will feel Tony Blair's absence.