Blair: Global intervention is vital
Tuesday, 21 Mar 2006 18:06
Blair: Global intervention is vital
Tony Blair has defended his interventionist approach to foreign policy and called for a global consensus in order to win the war against terrorism.
Speaking to the Foreign Policy Centre thinktank in London this afternoon, the prime minister issued a robust justification of his foreign policy thinking, notably with regard to getting involved in affairs in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Suggesting that such a policy was vital in defeating extremism and terrorism globally, Mr Blair stressed that the "civilised" world had to unite to take action to win a "battle of ideas" against extremist forces of all creeds and religions.
"'We' is not the west. 'We' are as much Muslim as Christian or Jew or Hindu. 'We' are those who believe in religious tolerance, openness to others, to democracy, liberty and human rights administered by secular courts," Mr Blair said.
"This is not a clash between civilisations, it is a clash about civilisation. It is the age-old battle between progress and reaction.
"We can no more opt out of this struggle than we can opt out of the climate changing around us. Inaction…is a policy that is profoundly and fundamentally wrong."
The prime minister also sought to distance himself from the neo-conservative thinking seen as underpinning US president George Bush's foreign policy by insisting that his thinking was "positive" rather than "conservative".
"It will be impossible to gain support for our values unless the demands for justice are as strong as the demands for freedom," the prime minister added.
"We will never get real support for the tough action essential to safeguarding our way of life unless we also attack global poverty or environmental degradation."
He added that those who preach a policy of "benign intervention" with regard to Iran, Iraq or Afghanistan, the notion that the UK and the US should leave regimes to govern their own affairs regardless of their actions or values, were playing into the terrorists' hands.
"The terrorists know that if they are to succeed either in Iraq or Afghanistan or indeed Lebanon or anywhere else wanting to go the democratic route, then the choice of a modern future for the Arab or Muslim world is dealt a potentially mortal blow," he said.
"Likewise if they fail and those countries become democracies and make progress, then not merely is that a blow against their whole value system but it is the most effective message against their wretched propaganda about America, the west and the rest of the world."
Today's speech was the first in a three-part series designed to outline Mr Blair's foreign policy vision and rebuff criticism of recent interventions, notably in Iraq, which this week marked the third anniversary of the US-led overthrow of Saddam Hussein. He will speak in Australia and the US in the coming weeks.
His comments came as George Bush also defended his policy over Iraq in the face of mounting domestic criticism as well as fresh allegations of abuse of Iraqi civilians by US military personnel.
Speaking at a White House news conference, Mr Bush insisted that the US would not withdraw from Iraq until the terrorists were defeated.
"The terrorists haven't given up. They're tough-minded. They like to kill. There's going to be more tough fighting ahead," he said.
"Yet we're making progress, and that's important for the American people to understand."
