IRAQ - Blair Says Stay The Course.

The Middle East was the main issue at last week's Labour Party conference in the UK, dominated by Iraq. On Sept. 25 British Prime Minister Tony Blair conceded he had not anticipated the ferocity with which insurgents and neo-Salafi extremists would seek to destabilise the US-UK coalition in Iraq but insisted the British government was still not setting any firm date for withdrawal of its troops.

At the end of a week which had seen British troops facing hostilities in southern Iraq (see rim3bbIraqWarSep26-05), Blair admitted the struggle against insurgents was proving to be very tough. "I didn't expect quite the same ferocity from every single element in the Middle East that came in and was doing their best to disrupt the political process", said Blair in an interview with BBC television, adding: "But I have absolutely no doubt as to what we should do. We should stick with it".

Blair said no fixed date was set for the withdrawal of British troops, although the government continued to state that it could withdraw troops from the southern part of Iraq if the Iraqi authorities got their own police force up to a satisfactory standard. He said: "There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that what is happening in Iraq now is crucial for our own security. Never mind the security of Iraq or the greater Middle East. It is crucial for the security of the world. If they are defeated, this type of global terrorism and insurgency in Iraq, we will defeat them everywhere".