The Hindu : International : Pre-war inputs wrong, admits Blair

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Sep 27, 2004

International

International

Pre-war inputs wrong, admits Blair

By Gaby Hinsliff, Andrew Rawnsley and Martin Bright

LONDON, SEPT. 26. The British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, yesterday disclosed his `immense' sorrow for the plight of the British hostage in Iraq Kenneth Bigley. But he issued a powerful plea for the British people to back his firm stance against the uprising in Iraq or risk fuelling global terrorism.

In his first public comments since the harrowing tape was broadcast of Mr. Bigley pleading for the Prime Minister to save him, Mr. Blair warned of the kidnappers' ability to "manipulate the modern media," which he admitted left politicians in a difficult position.

Praising the `stoical and very dignified' Bigley family, he also hinted at the personal strain the crisis had put him under, revealing that his deputy John Prescott had telephoned to bolster his spirits.

But in a wide-ranging interview with the London-based Observer newspaper on the eve of Labour's annual party conference, the Prime Minister made clear he would stand his ground. He also warned Iran not to meddle with its neighbour, denouncing as `completely unacceptable' reports of it helping Moqtada al-Sadr's rebel militia; compared the battle against insurgents in Iraq to the height of the Second World War; declined to rule out fighting another future war as part of the struggle against terrorism; and unveiled new manifesto plans at home to help first-time homebuyers and give working parents "universal, affordable" childcare.

Note of contrition

But he sounded his clearest note yet of contrition over the failure to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq — admitting bluntly that information received before the war was `wrong' and insisting he had already "apologised to the people for the information that was given being wrong." In fact, he has stopped short of a full apology until now.

The kidnapping of Mr. Bigley now casts a long shadow over the conference, threatening Mr. Blair's hopes of focusing on upbeat manifesto plans.

"I feel immensely sorry for his family as well as for him," Mr. Blair said. However, he hoped the public would understand that terrorism in Iraq "is to try to stop the country getting better, to murder anybody who tries to help its reconstruction and its democratic process. And our response, surely, has got to be to stand firm."

Mr. Blair called on those divided over the war to rally behind a fresh battle for the control of Iraq: "I can understand why people still have a powerful disagreement about the original decision to go to war. But whatever that disagreement, surely it is absolutely clear we have to stay and see it through. Because the consequence of not doing so is that global terrorism will get a tremendous boost."

Downing Street has been privately alarmed by the sophistication with which hostage taker Abu Musab al-Zarqawi has played on western public opinion. "What these terrorists understand is that they can use and manipulate the modern media to gain enormous publicity for themselves and put democratic politicians in a very difficult position," he said.

No coincidence

Privately, aides suspect it is no coincidence that a Briton and two Americans were seized just as Iraq's Prime Minister was due to visit London and Washington.Insisting the conflict was driven largely by foreign agitators not Iraqis, Mr. Blair delivered a veiled threat to Iran to stay out of it, urging "firmer action" by Syria and Iran to prevent insurgents crossing their borders.

Mr. Blair refused to rule out ever fighting another war alongside (the U.S. President) Bush, but he stressed there were other ways to resolve issues with Iran: "We do not intend to go around starting conflicts all over the world, but you know, the fact is I do believe that this global terrorism is the central security threat facing our time."

Asked if the war on terrorism had really delivered a safer world, Mr. Blair suggested things were often darkest before dawn: "There was more bloodshed in 1941 than in 1938." The intensity of the insurgency showed, he said, how much was at stake. —

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