Iraq factor returns to haunt Blair

[IndianaGreen]

Iraq factor returns to haunt Blair
Labour backbenchers and others insist Britain's policy in the Gulf is boosting al-Qa'ida
By Andy McSmith, Political Editor
Published: 17 July 2005

Bombing London was not an act of revenge for the Iraq war but the latest manifestation of an "evil ideology" responsible for a 12-year terror campaign in 26 countries, Tony Blair insisted yesterday.

His words reflected a worry among ministers that public opinion will link the London terrorist attacks with the unpopular war in Iraq.

The Prime Minister's critics within the Labour Party maintained an informal truce for the first week after the bombings, avoiding reference to the Iraq war out of respect for the victims. That truce has been broken this weekend, with two Labour MPs claiming publicly that the Iraq war and the terrorist attack are linked.

<snip>

Barely an hour before the Tony Blair spoke yesterday, John McDonnell, a left-wing critic of successive Labour leaders, told left-wing activists: "I just say to the Prime Minister and other ministerial commentators, please do not try to tell us that the war in Iraq played no part. As long as Britain remains in occupation of Iraq the terrorist recruiters will have the argument they seek to attract more susceptible young recruits to their bomb teams. Britain must withdraw now."

http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/article299679.ece

[Maple]

1. No of course

it's never the blatant bloody obvious thing...it's always something mysterious. An 'evil ideology' no one knows about.

Riiiiight.

Never mind that bin Laden has repeatedly stated what they want...'leave us alone to run our own countries!'

[Bellamia]

2. Right ON! Leave us alone........

And the formula for that is ASIATO: Avoid stepping in and taking over; or the old fashioned one, MYOB!

[KoKo]

3. I was shocked at Blair's speech which was carried on one of the cables.

He sounded just like Bush...I couldn't believe what I was hearing. He lost many seats in Parliament for following Bush and now he's parroting Bush's "Speeches of Evil" that litany he gives wherever he goes.

What the hell is it with Blair? Has Bush paid him off? Bush's polls are tanking...folks are sick of "Terra, Terra, Terra, Evildoers, Killers, they Hate us for our Freedoms..yadda, yadda. And, Blair thinks this speech will win him points. :eyes:

[CJCRANE]

4. It's blowback.

How many times do we have to say - "this is what the intelligence services warned us about?" before it sinks in (about lack of WMD, about no cakewalk, about urban guerrilla warfare, about looming civil war, about blowback etc).