I am speachless and shocked! How can a war criminal be appointed as peace envoy? This goes beyond my understanding.

nadine claude, Montreal, Quebec

In a bitter struggle between 2 sides any arbitrator has to be neutral and seen to be neutral. Mr Blair is neither.

The Arabs may be in a weak position, but they are not stupid. They know a war criminal when they see one. King Abudullah of Jordan and the west's other puppets may welcome him. But the Arab on the street still remembers Blair's silence as Israel targetted all civilian cars in Lebanon.

Mr Blair is simply going to be Washington's point man. Like Washington's previous point men over the decades, he will eventually come back with his tail between his legs when the real world hits him.

akram, London,

I could not believe this. As a key player in the illegal invasion of Iraq he has no credibility in the Arab World, ergo putting him in this role destroys even more of Britain's credibility there. To accomplish this destruction, we, the taxpayers, will finance his swanning about.
And what will be his diplomatic solution? Behave yourselves or there will be more corners of foreign fields that are forever England?

Eric Pritchard, Clevedon, Somerset

At this point no need to be cynical. Give Blair a chance. He could help in the ME.

Remember: the conventional wisdom in 1997 was that Northern Ireland was unsolvable: the Irish Question would never be solved because as soon as Britain had the 'answer' ,the Irish changed the question! British MPs were heartedly sick of the 'Irish Question' and when an Irish issue was brought up in the Commons, half the MPs would walk out.

But, between them, Blair and Bertie Ahern managed a least a partial answer in Northern Ireland and now there is peace. (I never thought I would write that!)

Give him a chance. Give the people a chance. It took 15 long years in NI (dating from the 1994 IRA ceasefire) and will take a *lot* longer in the ME (for one thing there was never an Irish lobby in America equivalent to AIPAC), but it's worth a try.

MShelley, London, UK,

a war criminal like blair in this job? have you people got no shame ? the best place for him would be in front of the hague.

robert fisher, kelowna, canada

I would have thought that with Tony's popularity in the Midddle East, to appoint him Middle East peace envoy would be like asking Enoch Powell to chair the Commission for Racial Equality.

Jon Hole, Wimbledon, England

The world has obviously gone mad - is their any sanity left in politics?

John, East Sussex, UK

Will Mr Blair be given Diplomatic immunity to prevent his arrest for War crimes in Iraq ?

Will this diplomatic immunity also prevent his arrest by UK police investigating the Cash for Honours affair ?

Peter Hooper, Windsor. , Berkshire.

After 'Mr - Shock and Awe - Blair has worked his magic the weather forecast for the Middle East. will be something like this:

Iran - high temperatures of 4000 degrees centigrade, radiation clouds spreading East:
Israel - temperatures expected to reach 3000 degrees in coastal areas, thundery showers of rockets locally:
West Bank - rain of heavy bombs in Ramallah with persistent and widely dispersed clusters of bomblets throughout the territory;
Gaza - outbursts of AK47 fire, brightening later.

Of course he'll still be Right - Far Right!

Phil, Hong Kong,

Putting Blair in charge is like putting the arsonist in charge of the fire department. Or putting the child in charge of the lolly shop. It will not work, and heaven help the future for our children when things get worse and worse.

Mother of two, London, England

This selection of a man most closely allied with G. W. Bush is unbelievable.

Are we to beleive Mr. Blair is capable of recommending moves that run counter to America's interests?

As an American, I see this choice as a reflection of the arrogance the U. S. displays when dealing with some global matters. I wish Mr. Blair had greater acceptance from all participants but our Administration appears to be incapable of using the required tact to opt for a more disinterested party.

THEN AGAIN THIS CHOICE IS ONE THAT WILL HELP US STAY IN THE MIDEAST .......PERHAPS.....FOREVER.

R. J. Nadalet, Cathedral City, CA

Forgive me if I'm wrong, but doesn't he already have a job?
The people of Sedgefield voted him in as their Parlimentary representative for the duration of this Parliment. Looks like he is letting them down by having to resign.

COLIN SYNNOCK, NORWICH, ENGLAND

The idea of having Blair act as a buffer between the Middle East conflict and the unhelpful interloping of the US and Russia is brilliant ! I wish Mr. Blair the best of luck on his important mission.

Em Hawthorne, Ottawa, CAN

I wish Blair every success in bringing peace to the Middle East.Peace be with you.

Jo Sullivan, Liverpool, Merseyside

The idea of having Blair act as a buffer between the Middle East conflict and the unhelpful interloping of the US and Russia is brilliant ! I wish Mr. Blair the best of luck on his important mission.

Em Hawthorne, Ottawa, CAN

If the way Blair is going to approach the middle east confict is the same as he went into the Iraq conflict is any indications how he does things then there will never be peace. I agree Blair is too tied to the Americans.

Chris, Canada,

Tony Blair becoming the region’s peace envoy is a joke and the entire JOKER got together to elect a warmonger as a peace envoy. How can world allow this to happen. Oh sorry these days world means USA or UK ?

Munna, London, UK.

I do not think that Mr. Blair would be effective unless he can work without any interference. In fact we need a person like Dr. Ralph Bunche. When he failed to create a peace consensus, he had imposed his peace deal. It woud be next to impossible to bring any amicable solution to that part of the world.
The best solution is to have a solution with a direct mandate and our president MUST support however unpalatable it might be. Our US policy of appesement towards Israel is the root cause of all Middle East problem. It would be foolish to ignore 1.4 billion Muslims in this world. As a devout Christian I say that we must ascertain the root causes of unrest before a solution can be achived. Israel must return 1967 war land for a lasting peace.

Amal Biswas, South Lyon, USA

Sir,
Trust is the key issue in this most explosive of regions.
It all depends upon whether he can fool all of the people, all of the time? After a brilliant series of "nice bloke" spin campaigns, we in Britain soon found him out. It just depends upon whether others are less critical of his glib Rasputin-like ego-fuelled machinations.

SC, London, United Kingdom

He has shown himself up good and proper now, he has always wanted to be the "BIG I AM" he wouldn't lower himself to be a back bencher, one reason that jod dosn't give him enough power, also grabbing for money in his pocket. This country would be better now without him and his wife, As I say he has come out in his true colours.

Cedric Hinchliffe, Sheffield, UK

It must be the best joke I've heard this year.
It isnt April 1st allready.

Willis Scholey, Cwmbran, Wales

The second most hated man (after mr Bush) in the middle east can/will be viewed to unfairly represent Israel in the eyes of the Muslim world. Especially after refusing to in force seize-fire during Lebanon/Israel war. That is not a wise choice.

Mohammed, London, UK

One who negotiates peace must have been a peace advocate all through his life and in all careers he had. That lends credence to peace effort, and the contending parties will approach the issue of peace with complete trust in the negotiator. The one who used carrots and sticks in the past will be unfit for that position, be it Bill Clinton or anybody. I hope it is possible to find a negotiator to fit the description.

ramamohan eachempati, spring, USA/Texas

maybe it is agood choice. maybe, he will look at his role in the iraq fiasco and try to remedy his place in history, maybe

Dolores Duchene-kim, ewa beach, hawaii