BLAIR - "We have been warned... we must act"

greenspun.com : LUSENET : Current News : One Thread

BBC Blair pledges action against terror Blair: "We have been warned... we must act"

Tony Blair has warned that worldwide action must be taken to defeat terrorists before they have the chance to use nuclear and other weapons of mass weapons.

The Prime Minister told an emergency session of the House of Commons that the events in the US had been a tragedy of "epoch-making proportions".

Mr Blair said other recent losses of UK lives in the Lockerbie bombing, the Falklands and the Gulf were not on the same scale as the attack on America, which had left at least 100 Britons dead.

He pledged to bring to account the perpetrators of the "hideous" atrocities, who were the enemies of the civilised world.

"Those that harbour and help them have a choice - either to cease their protection of our enemies or be treated as an enemy themselves."

Nuclear fear

Mr Blair said he feared the terrorists could escalate their activities to use weapons of mass destruction.

"We know that these groups are fanatics, capable of killing without discrimination. The limits on the numbers they kill are not governed by morality. The limits are only practical or technical.

"We know they would, if they could, go further and use chemical or biological or even nuclear weapons."

He said that the attack in the US heightened the need to crack down on the trade in the technology to produce and use such weaponry.

"It is time this trade was exposed, disrupted and stamped out. We have been warned by the events of the 11th of September. We should act on the warning."

Serious intent

And he explained why he had decided to recall Parliament: "These were attacks on the basic democratic values in which we all believe so passionately and on the civilised world."

The prime minister praised the US for not taking any snap action in the wake of Tuesday's horrors, saying such "deliberation showed the seriousness of their intent".

"They are our friends and allies and we, the British, are a people who stand by friends in times of tragedy and trial and we do so without any hesitation now."

Both the Commons and the Lords observed the three-minute silence which took place across 43 countries as a mark of respect at 1100 BST.

'Act of war'

Iain Duncan Smith responded to the prime minister's emergency statement in his Commons debut as Conservative leader.

He said democracy must always triumph over evil: "It is the responsibility of civilised countries everywhere to do whatever is necessary to prevent such atrocities ever happening again."

The new Tory leader said: "We now have the opportunity to support the United States in defence of freedom and democracy as they have done for us in the past."

Mr Duncan Smith said the sheer horror of Tuesday's events were "virtually impossible to comprehend".

That sentiment was echoed by Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy, who expressed his party's horror at the "breathtaking nature of Tuesday's savagery".

He added: "I think the angel of death is very much with us today."

Limits of action

Doubts about how far the British government should support US action came from some Labour backbenchers.

Veteran Labour MP Tam Dalyell asked the government to promise not to "inflict terror on innocent people".

Such action would only breed more terrorism, he argued.

Friday is a Europe-wide day of mourning to remember the victims of the terror attacks.

The Queen, accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh and Prince of Wales, has joined Prime Minister Tony Blair and the American ambassador in London, William Farish, at a special service of remembrance at St Paul's Cathedral in London.

-- Anonymous, September 14, 2001


Moderation questions? read the FAQ