Blair warns of a long haul

By Hasan Suroor

LONDON, OCT. 8. Britain, the only country which has so far joined in the U.S.-led military attacks on Afghanistan, has warned of a long haul with the Prime Minister, Mr. Tony Blair making it clear that there would be no ``let up or rest until our objectives are met''.

``I cannot disclose how long this wave of action will last. But we will act with reason, and resolve,'' he declared in a televised statement from Downing Street shortly after the first strikes, even as anti-war protesters assembled outside denouncing it as a ``war by the richest nations against the poorest nations''. He minced no words that there were ``inevitable risks'' involved in such an operation, obviously referring to fears about casualties, but promised that every precaution would be taken to avoid civilian losses with strikes targeted only against the Taliban's military apparatus and Osama bin Laden's Al- Qaeda ``network of terror''. There was, however, widespread anxiety over the safety of British troops and commentators warned of a domestic backlash once the ``body bags'' started arriving.

The Defence Secretary, Mr. Geoff Hoon today denied reports that some bombs had fallen in civilian areas and insisted that only military targets had been hit. Echoing Mr. Blair, he said it was going to be a ``relentless and deliberate'' action that would go on until the objective of destroying Bin Laden's terrorist network had been smashed. He justified the war as ``legitimate defence'' by the U.S. and Britain of their interests. The Taliban, he said, had been given sufficient warning that if they did not hand over Bin Laden they would face consequences, but they continued to ``prevaricate''. The military action, he added, was the beginning of a protracted fight against terrorism.

The Foreign Secretary, Mr. Jack Straw, who played a role in getting the Muslim world on board the international coalition against terrorism, claimed ``overwhelming'' support for the action but ironically Iranians, on whom he worked particularly hard, were quick to condemn the attacks; and there was no public declaration of support from other Muslim countries either. Officials were at pains to stress that privately these countries were backing the coalition but, given their domestic compulsions, it was not possible for them to declare it publicly. It was stated that some of these countries were providing ``discreet'' support in the form of ``intelligence pooling'', as one newspaper reported.

Mr. Blair called it a ``moment of utmost gravity'' and said ``no country lightly commits forces to military action and the inevitable risks involved''. He admitted that there were ``dangers in acting as we are'' but claimed that the dangers of inaction were ``far, far greater''. Both the Prime Minister and his Foreign Secretary sought to play down fears of a terrorist attack on U.K. but wanted people to be vigilant. The media response was predictably along the liberal-Right divide but there was near unanimity that the Taliban had brought it upon themselves. The Guardian said much of the world remained ``deeply sceptical'' about the campaign and described the action in Afghanistan as part of the ``most dangerous international crisis...since the Cuban missile crisis of 1962.''

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : International
Previous : U.N. Security Council seat for Syria
Next     : U.S. House, Senate stand by Bush, troops