Sir: It is time to say farewell to Tony Blair as envoy for the Quartet of Middle East peace negotiators. The Quartet represents the UN, the EU, US and Russia. It was George Bush’s idea to appoint him as a peace envoy; perhaps to pay him in kind for his all-out support in the 2003 Iraq war, ignoring widespread opposition to a war that ultimately opened the Pandora’s box of the Islamic State and other terrorist outfits in the region. I do not know how the capitals and streets in the Middle East shall say farewell to him. They may appreciate his relentless efforts to bring the Israelis and Palestinians to the negotiating table, forcing Israel to freeze the construction activities in occupied territories, letting Gaza siege be lifted, or getting lucrative consultancy-cum-business contracts for his ‘Tony Blair Faith Foundation’ and ‘Tony Blair Associates’, or standing with Israel during successive wars in Gaza and the never-ending settlements issue. It is strange that the Quartet tolerated his bankrupt peace initiatives for so long, or perhaps it was in everyone’s interest to let a known personality keep showing off doing something in the name of peace. Perhaps it is time to say goodbye to someone who never hid his bias against the Palestinians and that was the main reason he was always welcomed by the Israelis. If the Quartet is really serious about its peace initiatives, if there are any, they should look for someone with long-term peace in the Middle East on his/her mind, not long-term consultancy and advisory roles for his/her firms or advancing the business interests of his/her paymasters. MASOOD KHANJubailSaudi Arabia