Has Britain got a role to play on the world stage

[Steven]

Prime Minister Tony Blair will defend his government's record in Iraq and Afghanistan, in a speech in Plymouth.

He will say the UK must decide whether it wants to continue to have a major influence on world matters after he leaves office.

How important is it for the UK to have a major influence on world affairs? Is the UK well equipped to be a world power? Is Blair's policy of intervention right?

[Sloyne]

Originally Posted by Steven

Prime Minister Tony Blair will defend his government's record in Iraq and Afghanistan, in a speech in Plymouth.

He will say the UK must decide whether it wants to continue to have a major influence on world matters after he leaves office.

How important is it for the UK to have a major influence on world affairs? Is the UK well equipped to be a world power? Is Blair's policy of intervention right?

No, in spades and Blair is dreaming in technicolour if he thinks Britain can, on it's own, influence world events. Blair has debased any currency he (Britain) had when he lied about WMD in Iraq and supported the US aggression, invasion and occupation of that country. For generations the world will see Britain to be joined at the hip to the disastrous aggressive, ultra-rightist Bush administration and it's abuses of human rights at Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo Bay and it's secret "renditions" of prisoners. I fear that it will be seen that Britain is inextricably linked to the disastrous Bush American policy, for many decades to come and might even sound the deathnell of what little influence Britain still had left.

On the European front Britain, with it's obstructionist tactics, opting out and demands for special status, is alienating a lot of Europeans. So much so that Britain now has to cultivate support from the new Eastern European members in order to be heard.

The Blair government may be an excellent government domestically but a disaster in it's foreign policy. In fact I can think of only one foreign policy success and that is in Britain's intervention in Sierra Leone. IMHO.

Well you did ask.

[Sloyne]

Further to the above, I think the influnece of all the present western "economic powers" will diminish and by the middle of the century we'll see a completely new economic order. For example out of todays present top five economies only the US will make that league. A recent table shows China, India, USA, Brazil and Mexico, in that order, replacing, USA, China, Japan, Germany and Britain, the present day top five.