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Posted on 04/09/2003 12:29:59 PM PDT by knak
Tony Blair is watching with "delight" the television pictures of Iraqis celebrating in Baghdad but says the coalition should not claim victory too early. The prime minister's official spokesman said: "What we have seen today is the scales of fear falling from the eyes of the people of Iraq and they are able to express themselves for the first time in two decades."
The message from Downing Street came as there was Iraqi jubilation as a statue of Saddam Hussein was pulled down by US troops in Baghdad.
Mr Blair's spokesman said: "We are all watching these images along with the rest of the country and are delighted with what we are seeing."
Iraqi command and control in Baghdad had "completely disintegrated", he said.
But sounding a note of caution, he warned that coalition forces still faced possible resistance in parts of Baghdad and other areas of Iraq.
"We have to be careful about prematurely declaring victory when there could still be resistance of a high degree," he said.
Asked when the coalition could say it had won the war, the spokesman replied: "We will know that moment when we see it."
That caution should not detract from Iraqis' "gratitude for lifting the burden of Saddam from their shoulders", he added.
Final surrender?
Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith said the "momentous scenes" were reminiscent of the end of the Cold War.
"The sight of people finally realising the yolk of oppression is gone and then suddenly pouring forth in jubilation is gratifying, if not a little moving," he said.
Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy also welcomed "the very positive signs of coalition control in large parts of Baghdad", although Iraqi resistance continued in other areas.
Mr Kennedy, who opposed going to war, added: "We must now move quickly to end the looting in Baghdad and Basra which will allow relief agencies to begin the safe flow of humanitarian aid to the Iraqi people."
Veteran anti-war Labour MP Tam Dalyell said he was glad the bombing was over, although he had never doubted Baghdad would fall.
But he added: "The reaction of the Iraqi people to what is inevitably a continued occupation, whether it is seen as subjugation or liberation, will depend very much on events.
"What I am also greatly concerned about is the reaction of the Arab world, who were quite appalled with those scenes of the bombing of Baghdad."
Earlier, Mr Blair said the coalition does not know who can deliver an Iraqi surrender as Saddam Hussein's regime loses control of Baghdad.
At prime minister's questions, he told MPs: "It's extremely difficult, as we speak, to know what's left of the governing higher ranks of Saddam's regime.
"We must be clear that whoever we accept a final declaration from, that so far as Saddam's regime is concerned the war is over, whoever it is, has the appropriate authority.
"Now, I can't make a judgment at the moment as to who that would be."
Mr Blair said he had no doubts that weapons of mass destruction would be found in Iraq.
It was important to have any finds "objectively verified", perhaps by United Nations inspectors, he added.
Reconstruction talks
The prime minister spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin and French President Jacques Chirac on Wednesday as the focus increasingly turned to rebuilding Iraq.
In his Budget, Chancellor Gordon Brown said the UK was giving £240m to a UN humanitarian relief fund for Iraq.
At their talks in Northern Ireland on Tuesday, Mr Blair and US President George Bush said the UN should have a central role in the reconstruction process.
France, which is fiercely opposed to the conflict, has insisted the UN must handle Iraq's reconstruction.
UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw and France's Dominique de Villepin on Wednesday tried to present a united front by agreeing the urgent need for international involvement in rebuilding post-war Iraq.
Mr Straw later told Channel 4 News: "It looks as though we are now seeing the end of the Saddam Hussein regime."
The first thing I saw on TV this morning was FREED IRAQIS carring a large banner saying HUMAN SHIELDS GO HOME! The Brits and the Yanks are a formidable force for FREEDOM; Today was an EARTHQUAKE IN THE MIDDLE EAST!!!
Yes, that transcriber certainly has egg on her face!
Yeah, I'd love to see them handle reconstruction...in particular, reconstruction of the sites identified as old chemical/nerve gas factories and repositories. Have at it, Frogmen!
IMHO, this shoe-slapping is an Iraqi custom we should adopt into our political culture.
I'm not talking about a photo-op. I talking about a statement of personal courage. Think about the middle east, and how it responds to symbolsm. I would want to do it, and I bet Bush wants to do it, even if he's not allowed. Something really bold is needed to tip the region away from totalitarianism.
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