Blair committed to war on terror
Tony Blair has today reaffirmed his commitment to tackling global terrorism and the threat posed by rogue states.
Speaking in his North East constituency of Sedgefield, the prime minister accepted that the decision to go to war with Iraq had been “deeply divisive” and spoke of his commitment to return to the domestic agenda.
Mr Blair said that he saw regimes like that of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein and terrorist networks like al Qaeda, as the most significant threats to world peace.
Defending the decision to back the US over Iraq, the prime minister said the latest reports from the Survey Group showed Saddam had been in breach of UN Resolution 1441.
“The threat we face is not conventional,” he argued. “It is a challenge of a different nature from anything the world has faced before. It is to the world’s security, what globalisation is to the world’s economy.”
While he remained committed to the view that the war in Iraq would improve global security, Mr Blair was keen to note that the war on terror was far from over.
“It is monstrously premature to think the threat has passed. The risk remains in the balance here and abroad.”
Mr Blair’s speech follows comments from former chief UN weapons inspector Hans Blix, who questioned the legality of the Iraq war.
In an interview with the Independent this morning, Mr Blix also took issue with the view that Resolution 1441 authorised military action.
