Blair: I don't this it has anything to do with loss of American influence at all. We have to ask what changed policy because it's changed in the last few years nad what changed policy was 9/11. Before 9/11, this global ideology was already in being and 9/11 was the culmination of what they wanted to do.
Actually, this is where policy makers were truly in error, myself included, this was happening on a smaller scale across the world. The movement has grown and it will latch onto any cause it can and give it a dimension of hatred. In Kashmir for example. Palestine. What is it's purpose? It's purpose is to promote its ideology and use any methods at all, but particularly terrorism, to do that
The value of terrorism is not just the act of terror but the reactions to it. Brings reprisals and brings hatred and so on.
ANd in a small way, we lived through that in N. Ireland for many decades.
After 9/11, this explains the policy of the president and my view and why we need to remain strong allies, is we will never succeed unless we understand. They are going to fight hard. The reason they're doing what they're doing in Iraq is because if in the center of the ME in an Muslim country you have a non-sectarian democracy, a genuine democracy, how does their idelogy flourish in that circumstance. So they've moved into that country.
It's why the Taliban is trying to come back into Afghanistan.
(INCREDIBLY ARTICULATE ANSWER BY TONY BLAIR!)
Blair "gets" Islamofascist terrorism nearly as well as President Bush does. As leaders they must appear level-headed in dealing with people who are not.
Thank you, Peach!
Great job transcribing, thanks!
This is where I was able to start watching (had company). Thanks so much for typing this up. From here to the end of the conference, I was impressed. I guess how much outrage we hear about this from the leftists and Muslim community will be the gauge of how well this went over.
Very good. Just heard Blair's remarks re-played on Hugh Hewitt. Tell it, Brother Blair!!! Woo-hoo!