March 2008

When Tony Blair took office in 1997 as prime minister of England and Ireland, he viewed terrorists as guerrillas within the Irish Republican Army. By the time his service ended 10 years later, his definition of a terrorist had changed emphatically. The ensuing decade, he said, saw the rise of Middle East fanatics who flew airplanes into American buildings and a shift in global power from the West to the East.

During an appearance in March as a guest of the 2008 Flora Cameron Lecture on Politics and Public Affairs, Mr. Blair said the only constant in today’s world is change. He told a near-capacity audience in Laurie Auditorium that this is a “moment in time” to step back and look at “the big picture” as well as the nature of change. “The chief characterization of our modern world is the scale and pace and scope and intensity of that change,” he said.

Rapid change has occurred in every industry and in every political system, thanks to the widespread and worldwide use of technology, he said, adding that he believes a role of government is to prepare people for change.  Not only are business practices changing in industries, health care, and public services, so are views on policies and conflict resolution, he said. Among world governments, power is shifting away from England and the United States to the Middle East and the Far East.

Government leaders need to be open to a range of solutions to global issues and to be actively engaged in conflict resolution, he said. As an example, he noted that if European countries and America reduce emissions to stabilize air quality and the climate, but India and China do not, then “we’re no better off.” He added, “What happens in one part of the world dramatically affects what happens in another part of the world.”

Foreign policy programs of the West should not choose between diplomacy and troop movements, he said, but rather incorporate a combination of “hard and soft” strategies. Terrorists and violence-minded governments “think that if they kill enough of our forces, then we will lose the will (to continue fighting.) We have to prove them wrong. The roots are deep and we have to go to where those roots are.” In the case of the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, Mr. Blair observed that terrorists killed nearly 3,000 people. “But if they had been able, they would have killed 30,000. Terrorism is different than when I came to power.”

On his decision to send British troops to Iraq to fight alongside U.S. soldiers, Mr. Blair said, “I had to do what I thought was right. In the end, you make a decision and that’s the responsibility of leadership. You have to be prepared to stand by it and not waver because polls tell you it’s not popular. You look within yourself and do what you think is right.”

While meeting with about 60 Trinity students on the afternoon of his lecture, he said that he considered the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon as not limited to an assault on America. “It was on our system of life.” He also said serious curbs on terrorism will take a generation to accomplish and warned not to give up before it happens.  “If we walk away, we will do long-term damage to our security,” Mr. Blair told students.

He also spoke of Democracy as a desired form of government that millions of people around the world would love to enjoy. “Democracy is the best kind of government. We should cherish it.”

Mr. Blair’s visit to Trinity was made possible by an endowment fund established by Flora C. Crichton of San Antonio. Previous Cameron lecture guests have included former President George H.W. Bush, former Mexico President Vicente Fox, and former first lady Barbara Bush. 

© 2008 Trinity University