Open Letter To Theresa May

Dear Theresa,

I hope this letter meets you well and you are in good health.

My plan is to keep this brief just because I know you have a million items on your desk. My intention is to pass on some advice re: Syria.

To facilitate this approach, I will communicate by bullet points.

As a background, I must inform you I have form for this sort of thing, having written a similar piece to David Cameron.

In any event, please ignore that epistle for now and let me spell out my counsel to you:

1. 1. Chemical weapon attacks have happened several times in Syria. Evidence has shown the Assad government has not been responsible for all those attacks.
2. 2. Britain is on his way out of the European Union. We need to start being more strategic in our actions. Just because the EU supported our accusation of Russia on the Salisbury attack, doesn’t mean we owe them support on Syria.
3. 3. Macron will need to show us his evidence that “they were used by the Assad regime.” We can no longer risk the security of our country just on the basis of innuendo.
4. 4. Every single military action we have taken in the Middle East has come home to roost in the form of refugees and domestic attacks.
5. 5. With the expiration of Tony Blair’s influence at governmental levels, the EU hawks have now pitched their tent with Macron. We don’t have to follow him blindly. Remember, we did that in Libya, only to find out France went into that crisis with a completely selfish and hidden agenda.
6. 6. You are a PM who was not voted into office by the people, so it’s imperative that you listen to the electorate before you enter into any commitment of our armed forces. Your legacy will suffer if you ignore public opinion.
7. 7. Your government is already suffering the backlash of jumping to conclusions re: Russia’s involvement in Salisbury. Time to tread softly.
8. 8. Don’t rush to a decision based on the current noise. Think about what your point of view will be 10 years from now and then come to a conclusion.
9. 9. As you can see with Tony Blair before you, no one remembers the other members of the cabinet after the event. The consequences of the whatever commitments you make, will be an albatross around your neck until the grave.
10. 10. Leave Syria to Syrians.

There you are PM. Thanks for your time. Wishing you the best.

Open Letter to David Cameron

Dear David,

I am writing to you in the wake of the ongoing dilemma called Syria and hoping you will heed to some of the advice you will find in the following paragraphs.

Let me start by laying my cards on the table. I have never run anything in my life, talk less of running a government or being one of the most powerful individuals in the world. I am just a keen observer of world affairs and a keener follower of the history of the Middle East, who sits on the sidelines and watches our leaders fumble through crisis after crisis.

Clearly, you have an endless list of advisers who are far more qualified than myself and as such, would hopefully guide you with wisdom this issue demands, but if the totality of their advice is for the UK to get involved in Syria militarily, then I have to say they are wrong.

Syria, like most countries in the Middle East and North Africa, is a country most Westerners do not understand and consequently, when we interfere in their business, we often come out worse off than when we went in. Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya are three examples of political open sores we are yet to effectively heal, but somehow it appears the lesson is never learnt.

The issue isn't whether we are obliged to go into these countries, the issue is we have shown time after time, we do not possess the guile to draw up an exit strategy when the time to leave arrives. Like a bumbling 'good' Samaritan who wants to stand up to the schoolyard bully, we rush in and end up with more than egg on our faces and yet we attempt to conjure up a story for the electorate, of how we are mandated to keep the peace in cultures we clearly do not understand.

Let's take Libya as an example.

For all the hue and cry rained down on us by you and other world leaders, Libya today is as bad as Syria. There are lawless individuals still toting around with enough arms to destabilise a small country and the peace we have brought to that land is a tenuous as the relationship we had with Qaddafi. If Libya's payback for kicking out the much reviled statesman, was to murder the US ambassador, then it is only a matter of time before the powder keg they precariously sit on, takes the whole place apart. Once the media leaves Damascus behind, I will not be surprised if the next stop is Benghazi.

I am not predicting this woe because I am a naysayer, rather, I am just recounting the pattern we see continuously before us. As a leader in the so-called free world, I am sure you see these things too, but it seems there are other behind-the-scene factors which are dictating the path your government intends to go down.

The current atrocities in Syria are heinous and barbaric, but how can we tell the reality on ground? Who do we know has used what weapons in such an opaque war? How do we know it was the Syrian government who ordered the shooting at UN Inspectors? How do we know categorically the rebels haven't used chemical weapons? How is it our Foreign Secretary is already calling out the Assad government on these crimes, when the inspectors haven't concluded their investigations? How can we expect the Syrian government to see us as neutral? Could there be other reasons why we are so keen to get involved? Are the exertions of Shell in the Syrian landscape a pointer to facts minnows like myself are not privy to? Where is the proof that previous interventions in this volatile region has ever ended well and worthy of getting involved in?

I am aware there will be dissenting voices (albeit in the minority) like mine amongst your advisers and I am 100% sure the hawks are doing all they can to get you committing the UK troops to this war, but at least unlike your predecessor (once removed), you cannot say no one told you otherwise. This letter is in the public arena now and will stand as a stick to beat you with, post your misadventure in Assad's playground.

In conclusion, I wish you good luck in all you do. The responsibilities of being at the helm of affairs of such a powerful country must be overwhelming. I am aware people like me only know 20% of the story and as such, I will accede to your superior position, but I pray you do not get so blinded-sided that you start to believe this is your moment to crystallise your legacy. For this is not your moment. And always remember...in the end, all leaders fail, but history is kinder on the leaders who possess clarity and do not attempt to hoodwink their people.

Regards

Kanmi Iyanda

P.S - I hear Tony Blair has asked for you to intervene asap...well, if that doesn't dissuade you from what is clearly political harakiri, nothing will.

The Future is Brown....

James Purnell looking at Gordon Brown and wondering whether he knows what he's doing

As a committed student of politics, I always love the intrigues that characterise the corridors of power and the treachery that emerges when the situation becomes tough. Of course it's a shame that the transparency needed to enjoy the theatre is missing in my own nation, but all through the political history of major nations, individuals of outstanding candour and heart have shoved their way into the hearts of their respective electorate, cementing their place in history in the process.

Irrespective of your politics, one has to doff their hats to dogged politicians like Margaret Thatcher (stubborness), Churchill (inspiring), Bill Clinton (outrageous charisma)and Obama (well, genius...perhaps). It takes an incredible amount of chutzpah, to battle your way through what has been described as an impossible task and then in the process succeed to convince millions of people that your way is the way to go. It is a God-given talent and as we can see quite clearly with the current Gordon Brown crisis in the UK, it is also a trait that is very limited in circulation.

Whilst we fawn over the oratory and screen-idol looks of Obama, we are left with nothing but sheer discomfort when we observe Mr. Brown. A man of incredible intelligence, but cursed with the facial expression of your neighbourhood mortician, poor Gordon is like the neglected grumpy big bear stuck in a private zoo with little cute furry animals, who attract the majority of visitors. He is constantly irritated by what he must view as cerebral cretins who kiss his arse to his face and do otherwise, once he turns his back!

In the end, I happen to believe Mr. Brown has the tenacity to deal with the ongoing furore and will therefore weather the storm. The parliamentary Labour party cannot afford a leadership election (they are terribly expensive!) and there isn't anyone except Alan Johnson perhaps, who has the nerve or the gravitas to emerge as a formidable force to repel the oncoming Tory army. And so, even as minister after minister resigns (and there will be more...trust me!)and their leader is festooned and beleaguered, I just somehow have this feeling that it will not be enough to get the man out of Number 10.

I still believe the future is Brown.....