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Blair: 'military preparations in place' |
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Tony Blair has arrived back in Britain at the end of his diplomatic mission to build support against terrorism. He left India after talks with the Prime Minister in New Delhi, where he repeated his determination to punish those responsible for the attacks on America. He said that all preparations were now in place for a military strike against Osama bin Laden's terror network and Afghanistan's ruling Taleban regime. He said his three-day diplomatic shuttle mission had left him convinced that a global coalition now accepted the "interconnection" between Bin Laden and the Taleban "We have obviously been prepared since September 11 and those preparations for any military actions are there, so that's clear," the Premier told reporters travelling with him en route to London. "The Taleban regime have had now three weeks when it's been made quite clear what they have to do to avoid being targeted." The Prime Minister stressed: "There are very, very important reasons for taking this action. For a long time there was an insufficient world consensus about taking such action, but there is now." Mr Blair also warned: "We can't undertake military action without any risks being run but we can do everything, we will do everything, to minimise risks to our servicemen." The Prime Minister said in an interview recorded on board his chartered British Airways 777 jet: "Things are coming into place. The timing of any action is a matter to be discussed with our close allies. "What has been happening is that there is a political and diplomatic coalition there that's very strong. "What has become clear in the discussions I have had in the region is that the links between Bin Laden and the Taleban are enormous. Mr Blair landed back in London after a diplomatic odyssey which began on Thursday with a trip to Moscow and was then followed by visits to Islamabad, Pakistan's capital and India. He travelled in total more than 9000 miles in his second whirlwind round of talks since the September 11 atrocities. Earlier, he praised India's strong support for the international coalition against terrorism and repeated his message that support for the global effort was strengthening.
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