Michael Ancram, the UK’s Conservative foreign affairs spokesman and, remarkably, Tory party deputy leader, is one of those decent, well-intentioned and utterly ineffectual people who make their way to the top in Western democracies. Here’s his big new idea:
“Michael Ancram has called for renewed co-operation and dialogue between mainstream Islamic countries and the West – in a move to outflank the international terrorist organization al Qaeda. The Deputy Conservative leader has written to Tony Blair highlighting his paper “From Clash to Dialogue: an answer to al Qaeda”, in which he proposes a “big initiative” based around a new Grand Congress of Reconciliation.”
Oh yes, yup, sure, that’ll do the trick.