Blair: ‘Iraq invasion crucial for UK security’
Invading Iraq was crucial for British security, Tony Blair has insisted as the Labour party conference gets under way in Brighton.
The prime minister told BBC1’s Sunday AM programme that he had not expected the “ferocity” of resistance from insurgents to Iraq’s fledgling political process, but said Britain should “stick with it” in order to defeat global terrorism and militancy in Iraq.
“There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that what is happening in Iraq now is crucial for our own security,” Mr Blair said.
“Never mind the security of Iraq or the greater Middle East. It is crucial for the security of the world.”
“If they are defeated, this type of global terrorism and insurgency in Iraq, we will defeat them everywhere,” he insisted.
The prime minister also stressed that he would not set an “arbitrary date” for withdrawing British troops from Iraq.
His comments followed speculation of a planned withdrawal of British forces by May 2006 following recent clashes between troops and Iraqi police in Basra.
A report published by The Observer indicated that ministers had begun making plans to pull out of the country, and had informed the Japanese government of its intentions.
But the Ministry of Defence has insisted that the British military presence in Iraq will remain until “the job is done”, denying The Observer’s suggestions that withdrawal will begin after December’s elections.
The claims coincided with anti-war protests in the US and Britain on Saturday, when an estimated 10,000 people took to the streets in London demonstrating against the deployment of UK troops in Iraq.
Lindsey German of the Stop The War Coalition, which organised the march, said: “Enough is enough.”
“It is now time, once again, for the British people to step forward into the streets and insist that this time we will not be ignored.”
