30 October 2001

Blair: We Are in This Conflict Because "On 11 September, Thousands of People Were Killed in Cold Blood"

Excerpt of U.K. Prime Minister Blair Speech to the Welsh Assembly
Says war against terrorism based on belief in justice, tolerance

In a speech to the Welsh Assembly October 30, British Prime Minister Tony Blair asked that people "go back to why we are in this conflict. On 11 September, thousands of people were killed in cold blood in the worst terrorist attacks the world has ever seen. ... Those responsible were the Al Qaida network reared by Usama Bin Laden."

The facts, Blair said, "lead to one inescapable conclusion: that if we do not act against Al Qaida and the Taliban, Al Qaida will have perpetrated this atrocity, the Taliban will have sheltered them, and we will have done nothing. We will have done nothing despite the fact, also inescapable, that they intend to commit more atrocities unless we yield to their demands which include the eradication of Israel, the killing of all Jews and the setting up of fundamentalist states in all parts of the Arab and Moslem world."

In responding to the situation, Blair said, "We will not stop until our mission is complete. We will not flinch from doing what is necessary to complete it." He went on to pledge that the campaign against terrorism would not fail "because we believe in our values of justice, tolerance and respect for all regardless of race, religion or creed just as passionately as they believe in fanatical hatred of Jews, Christians and any Moslems who don't share their perverse view of Islam."

Reviewing the military campaign, the British Prime Minister reminded his audience that the conflict was not a conventional one and was not a battle for territory or the subjugation of Afghanistan. "It is a battle to allow Afghans themselves to re-take control of their country and in doing so to close down the threat posed by the present rulers."

Political and diplomatic efforts go hand in hand with the military campaign, he said, emphasizing the desire of the coalition to limit civilian casualties. "Tragically, there will be some but I do ask people to be deeply skeptical about Taliban claims," Blair added.

"The end we desire is this: Al Qaida shut down in Afghanistan; the Taliban regime out; a new broad-based regime in; Afghan reconstruction underway," he said.

Blair also acknowledged that people have questions and anxieties about the course of the anti-terror campaign and said all these concerns deserve to be answered.

"No one who raises doubts is an appeaser or a faint heart," he said. "We are a democracy, strong enough to have doubts raised even at a time of war and wise enough to be able to respond to them."

Blair closed by thanking Moslem leaders in Wales and across Britain for forthrightly condemning the atrocities of September 11, and he pledged to defend their right to live free from the fear of racism and religious hatred.

Following are excerpts from the speech as it appeared on the Prime Minister's official Web site, 10 Downing Street (http://www.number-10.gov.uk):

Thank you for your invitation to be here today - the first British Prime Minister to have addressed the National Assembly of Wales.

[...]

When I accepted this invitation months ago, I had in mind a very different speech than the one I give today. I understand some feel I should not address the present crisis in the Welsh Assembly. I am sorry if that is the case but if I were speaking today before any Parliament in the world, I should feel obliged to talk about the issue that rightly preoccupies people and I hope the people of Wales will consider it a mark of respect not of disrespect if I do so here. And we should never forget the contribution Wales and the Welsh people make to our Armed Forces.

I said a few days ago that now would be the testing time. People want results. They want them as fast as possible.

They realise the formidable challenges posed by any action in Afghanistan. They worry about civilian casualties. They are anxious about the refugee crisis as winter approaches. They wonder what comes after the conflict.

All these concerns deserve to be answered. No one who raises doubts is an appeaser or a faint heart. We are a democracy, strong enough to have doubts raised even at a time of war and wise enough to be able to respond to them.

But let us go back to why we are in this conflict. On 11 September, thousands of people were killed in cold blood in the worst terrorist attacks the world has ever seen. That is a fact. Those responsible were the Al Qaida network reared by Usama Bin Laden. That is a fact barely disputed by anyone anymore. Incidentally, the intelligence evidence, significant when I first drew attention to it on 3 October, is now a flood, confirming guilt.

The Taliban regime in Afghanistan protect Al Qaida and help them. That is a fact. Indeed, according to the latest evidence we have, they are virtually a merged organisation. The Taliban regime are cruel, dictatorial and oppressive, causing 4 1/2 million refugees to be on the move before 11 September. That, too is a fact.

Usama Bin Laden and Al Qaida have said they consider it their duty to commit further terrorist acts. We gave the Taliban an ultimatum to deliver up Usama Bin Laden. They refused. These are also facts.

They lead to one inescapable conclusion: that if we do not act against Al Qaida and the Taliban, Al Qaida will have perpetrated this atrocity, the Taliban will have sheltered them, and we will have done nothing. We will have done nothing despite the fact, also inescapable, that they intend to commit more atrocities unless we yield to their demands which include the eradication of Israel, the killing of all Jews and the setting up of fundamentalist states in all parts of the Arab and Moslem world.

So: we have a group of people in Afghanistan who are the sworn enemies of everything the civilised world stands for, who have killed once on a vast scale and will kill again unless stopped. They can't be negotiated with. They refuse to yield to justice.

And they have one hope: that we are decadent, that we lack the moral fibre or will or courage to take them on; that we might begin but we won't finish; that we will start, then falter; that when the first setbacks occur, we will lose our nerve.

They are wrong. We won't falter.

We will not stop until our mission is complete. We will not flinch from doing what is necessary to complete it. We will not fail and we will do it all because we believe in our values of justice, tolerance and respect for all regardless of race, religion or creed just as passionately as they believe in fanatical hatred of Jews, Christians and any Moslems who don't share their perverse view of Islam.

They mistake our desire for a comfortable life, living in peace, benign towards different races and cultures, for decadence. It is not decadence. It is progress and we will fight to maintain it.

Now let me return to the questions that need answering.

Our objectives are clear: to close down the Al Qaida network, bring UBL and his associates to justice and because the Taliban regime have chosen to side with Al Qaida, to remove them.

The means we use will be: air power; ground operations as and when necessary in furtherance of our aims; support to the Northern Alliance and other anti-Taliban regime elements; and building up a strong political and diplomatic coalition against the present Taliban regime inside and outside Afghanistan.

We have destroyed the Taliban air force, put Taliban airfields and air defence systems out of action; destroyed all the main Al Qaida camps; profoundly damaged Taliban command and control facilities, and dramatically reduced their capacity to communicate with their forces in the field.

So this is a steady process of fragmenting, undermining and eventually destroying the Taliban regime as a serious threat capable of inflicting any more damage on their country and the outside world.

But two words of caution. This is not a conventional conflict. It is not a battle for territory per se or for the subjugation of Afghanistan. It is a battle to allow Afghans themselves to re-take control of their country and in doing so to close down the threat posed by the present rulers. The political and diplomatic go hand in hand with the military. And we simply cannot and should not disclose the exact nature of the ground operations we intend to undertake. There is a limit to what we can sensibly discuss in public.

We do all we can to limit civilian casualties, unlike Usama Bin Laden and Al Qaida who did all they could to cause as many civilian casualties as possible. Tragically, there will be some but I do ask people to be deeply sceptical about Taliban claims.

Whilst the military action continues, two other things are happening. We are establishing a huge humanitarian effort - $700m [million] already pledged. We are determined to feed and shelter as many refugees as we can. But we have to contend with armed groups harassing UN food convoys, stealing their equipment or even the food itself. We are in continuous discussion with the UN agencies and others on the ground to see how to improve the delivery of supplies and humanitarian assistance, and carry on doing all we can.

Secondly, under the leadership of Mr Brahimi, the Special UN Envoy, the UN is convening as wide a representative group of Afghan opinion as possible in order that when the present Taliban regime falls, a successor regime, broad-based, can take its place. All the main regional countries are being consulted.

The end we desire is this: Al Qaida shut down in Afghanistan; the Taliban regime out; a new broad-based regime in; Afghan reconstruction underway.

Our military action is focussed on Afghanistan. But terrorism is a wider problem not limited to there. We will take action as a world community on its financing, weapons capability and movement of terrorists wherever we can, as with the recent EU [European Union] measures. This second stage of action will, of course, be subject to close consultation and deliberation with the global alliance against terrorism.

The international coalition remains strong. I pay tribute to Arab and Moslem countries who have supported our action. I thank Saudi Arabia for its forthright condemnation and action. UBL may be Saudi in origin but he defames the good name of Saudi Arabia, which is a good and dependable friend to the civilised world.

Every part of this is difficult. Every part requires courage, conviction, hard work. In every part, there may be setbacks from time to time. But in every part, we have justice and right on our side, and a strategy to deliver.

It is important we never forget why we are doing it. Important we never forget how we felt watching the planes fly into the twin towers. Never forget those answering machine messages. Never forget how we felt imagining how mothers told children they were about to die.

Never forget the guts of the fire fighters and police who died trying to save others. Never forget the menace of UBL in his propaganda video. Never forget that too long a list of countries who lost sons and daughters. Never forget that they were of all faiths and none; Christian, Jew and Moslem; many Moslems, for it is not us who are at war with Islam. It is Al Qaida and the Taliban who are at war with anyone, whatever their faith, who does not share their maniacal, fanatical view of the world.

He did not just hijack planes. He has hijacked a country from which he runs his terrorist, criminal activity. Now he would like to hijack a religion; and hijack the Palestinian cause too.

We are a principled nation, and this is a principled conflict.

September 11th is no less appalling today than it was on September 11th. Our determination is no less resolute than it was on the day military action began. We have a job to do; and it is being done and will be seen through to the end.

Now is a time for people of all races and all faiths in Britain to stand together.

That is exactly what Moslem leaders in Wales and across Britain have done with their forthright condemnation of the atrocities of 11 September, and I thank them for it.

I condemn utterly the attacks and abuse that some British Moslems have suffered since 11 September - some of them here in Wales.

And I say to the 50,000 Moslems living in Wales today: we will defend your right to live free from the fear of racism and religious hatred. [...]

(end excerpt)