Is George Angry With His Friend Tony?

Is Bush angry with his old friend, Tony Blair? Will Tony be desperate for a job when he leaves office? What's going on here?

I have absolutely no expertise in Middle Eastern politics, but this, to me, flies in the face simple common sense. I am a wee bit more familiar with the manner in which certain of Condoleezza Rice's cockamamie schemes have played out in recent history, which makes me all the more skeptical.

Bush must surely have Blair's acquiescence before putting this word out, but one can't be sure with our president.

From the Washington Post:

The Bush administration is laying the groundwork for an announcement of Tony Blair's appointment as a special Middle East envoy for Palestinian governance and economic issues after he steps down as Britain's prime minister, following two months of behind-the-scenes negotiations, according to U.S. officials.

Blair would report to the Quartet overseeing Middle East peace efforts -- the United States, the United Nations, the European Union and Russia -- and focus on issues limited to the internal workings of a future Palestinian state. Political negotiations involving Palestinians, Israelis and the Arab states would be left to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, the officials said.

What a quartet! I can hear it now.

The Palestinians have yet to be approached on the possibility, but U.S. officials believe they would welcome a Blair appointment. Among Palestinians, Blair is known to have a good working relationship with Prime Minister Salam Fayyad and President Mahmoud Abbas, but he is considered strongly pro-Israel and is closely associated with the Bush administration's Middle East policies, according to Palestinian analysts.

Why ask the Palestinians? Why on earth would their input be needed?

Russia hasn't signed on yet. I see reliance on a significant number of "ifs" here. I have heard of such a thing as floating a trial balloon, but this balloon seems to have been floated - how shall I say it? - way too prematurely!

Asked if Bush had spoken with Blair about the idea, Snow said: "I don't think he has. I don't have any knowledge, and my guess is I'd know. But, no, I don't know anything."

What! Blair may not have been consulted yet? British officials won't comment. What kind of nonsensical announcement is this? Where will this scheme cooked up by Rice and Olmert go?

Look, I'm for any realistic plan to bring about peace between the Palestinian factions and peace between the Palestinians and the Israelis. I'm all for realistic plans to bring about peace anywhere in the world, but this one appears extremely unlikely to be fruitful. Of course, I could be wrong.