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MANILA, Philippines ? Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, in Manila for a series of leadership conferences, used an open forum at the Ateneo de Manila University to make what he called "a larger point" about the turmoil in the Middle East.
"There is essentially one battle going on, and it is a battle about Islam."
Blair, on retiring as prime minister in 2007, immediately accepted an appointment as special envoy of the so-called Quartet in the Middle East: the United Nations, the European Union, the United States, and Russia.
He told a sympathetic audience that the "larger point" was the right framework with which to understand the pivotal, conflict-ridden region.
Blair said there were two elements in Islam: one wanted to work with the West; the other did not.
The right approach to peace and development in the Middle East, then, would be to "partner with the modernizing and moderate element," he said.
He made his remarks in answer to a question about how he made major decisions, such as joining the US-led Coalition of the Willing in invading Iraq.
He answered the Iraq question first, and then broadened his view to include the titanic struggle for the future of Islam.
Referring to the moderates doing battle with extremists, he said: "We gotta make sure those guys win."
