Arab Media Watch chairman Sharif Hikmat Nashashibi comments on Tony Blair's appointment as Middle East envoy. An abridged version of this article was published in the Glasgow Herald on 28 June 2007.

Having Tony Blair as the Quartet's Middle East envoy is about as unproductive and offensive to Arabs as giving the Nobel Peace Prize to Robert Mugabe would be to Zimbabweans. Blair simply has no credibility, respect or popularity in the Arab world, and his disastrous Middle East policies played a huge role in generating public revulsion against him in Britain.

His record is woefully tainted, and his words and actions have shown him to be incapable of impartiality - exactly the quality that a Middle East envoy needs. What on earth, then, does Blair or the Quartet think he can achieve? Then again, what has the Quartet ever achieved? This looks like an exercise in massaging his seemingly limitless ego.

Judging from media reports, Blair's focus will be "good governance." This from a man who deceitfully justified an illegal invasion of Iraq against the wishes of the British public; who has kept British troops there against the wishes of the Iraqi public; who prolonged Israel's invasion of Lebanon last year by opposing a swift ceasefire; who talks of the need for democracy while allied to certain dictatorships and shunning certain elected parties such as Hamas; who has acquiesced in Israel's occupation and colonisation of Palestinian and Syrian land; and who has been effectively hounded out of office (albeit much later than most people would have liked).

The list goes on. How's that for "good governance"? And what about freedom and justice for the Palestinian people, which are central to a lasting peace in the Middle East? Apparently, this is not as important as having a compliant government under occupation.

This looks more like a patronising, imperialist attempt at civilising the uncivilised. After all, the people of the region were not consulted about Blair's suitability for the role.  This was forced on them by US diktat - no surprises there then. In short, Blair's role in the region has been catastrophic, and its consequences felt worldwide. The fear is that his new job will prolong this dismal legacy.