| Submit your comments on this article |
| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Blair hints at military action against Iran |
| 2005-10-28 |
| TONY BLAIR gave warning last night that the West might have to take military action against Iran after worldwide condemnation of its Presidentâs call for Israel to be âwiped off the mapâ. Ending a one-day European Union summit, the Prime Minister called the explosive declaration by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Wednesday a disgrace. Promising discussions with Washington and other allies over how to react, Mr Blair said that he had often been urged not to take action against Iran. But he added: âIf they carry on like this the question people will be asking us is â when are you going to do something about Iran? Can you imagine a State like that with an attitude like that having nuclear weapons?â It was the first time Mr Blair had even hinted at military action and his words are likely to alarm Labour MPs. Mr Blair, clearly angry at the Presidentâs outburst, said that there were people in Iranâs leadership who believed that the world was sufficiently distracted that it could not afford to focus on the nuclear arms issue. âThey will be making a very big mistake if they do that. Those sentiments are completely unacceptable,â he said. âI have never come across a situation in which the president of a country has said they want to wipe out another country. That is unacceptable.â Mr Ahmadinejadâs words triggered international condemnation, with Israel demanding Iranâs expulsion from the United Nations. âA country that calls for the destruction of another people cannot be a member,â Ariel Sharon, the Israeli Prime Minister, said. Russia, which has been helping Iran to develop its nuclear programme, called the words unacceptable. Kofi Annan, the UN Secretary-General, expressed dismay. The Bush Administration demanded that Iran behave as a responsible member of the international community. Unlike the US, the EU has always emphasised the need to engage Iran diplomatically, but it also abandoned its more cautious stance yesterday. âCalls for violence and for the destruction of any state are manifestly inconsistent with any claim to be a mature and responsible member of the international community,â the leaders said in an agreed statement. Iranâs chargé dâaffaires in London was called to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to be told of Britainâs outrage. Iranian diplomats were subjected to similar protests in other capitals. Mr Blair said of Iran: âTheir attitude towards Israel, terrorism and nuclear weapons is not acceptable. If they continue down this path people are going to believe that they are a real threat to world security and stability. I feel a real sense of revulsion. It shows how much some of these places need to reform themselves. How can we build a more secure world with that type of attitude? It is a disgrace.â The EU leaders said that the Presidentâs comments would cause concern about Iranâs role in the region and its future intentions. That his comments were made on the same day as the attack on Israeli civilians at Hadera only reinforces the lesson that incitement to violence, and the terrorism it breeds, were âdespicable and unacceptable actsâ, they said. Britain, France and Germany have been responsible for handling the EUâs relations with Iran in international forums, and have been notably careful in their diplomatic language, particularly in reference to the prospect of any military action against Iran. By contrast, Washington has conspicuously refused to rule out such action. But fears in Western governments have grown since the removal last June of Mr Ahmadinejadâs predecessor, Mohammad Khatami, who had been much less hostile to Israel and of whom both Tony Blair and Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary, had hopes of a better relationship. His successor, the former mayor of Tehran, was an unknown quantity to the West. On Wednesday he made his hardline views clear when he cited the founder of Iranâs Islamic revolution, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini: âAs the Imam said, Israel must be wiped off the map.â Fears about Iranâs nuclear ambitions have been augmented by worries about its activities in Iraq, where it has been suspected of supporting insurgents. There have been reports that high-ranking members of al-Qaeda have been allowed to roam freely in Iran. Tehran has denied any link to or support for the terrorist group. WHAT THE PRESIDENT SAID: âAnybody who recognises Israel will burn in the fire of the Islamic nationâs fury [while] any [Islamic leader] who recognises the Zionist regime means he is acknowledging the surrender and defeat of the Islamic world . . . As the Imam said, Israel must be wiped off the mapâ |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #27 I do not give much credence to prophecy but St. Bernadettes's one on Iran(Persia)'s is seemingly getting fulfilled sooner rather than later, it would seem. After all it was made as recently as merely two century ago only. |
| Posted by: Duh 2005-10-28 23:27 |
| #26 If that was the case, the Chechens could suddenly find themselves driving M1A1s. |
| Posted by: H5N 1 2005-10-28 22:49 |
| #25 How possible is it that Russia has sold them a nuke? |
| Posted by: jules 2 2005-10-28 21:48 |
| #24 Still wondering whether they don't already have one or two. .. "We need to make sure the European populace is engaged in this war sufficiently enough to guarantee a bit of Euro participation in this one.Albeit limpwristed..." It would be a powerful thing to have Euros, who if nothing else are world-class gabbers, yack in large numbers at multiple international venues about the need to take out Jew-hating Iranian leaders. Word of mouth is such a powerful force. But no begging to get Europe to do it-they need to come to this conclusion on their own. And if history is any lesson on that, they'll come to the conclusion too late. The only reason we would wait til elections is because we're curious about how our skin will look with nuclear blast blisters. Waiting til fall of 06 is not an option. |
| Posted by: jules 2 2005-10-28 21:45 |
| #23 AlanC: I think that THE IRANIANS did this deliberately to distract attention from the Voelker report on their good buddies the Russians, French and Germans. Man, that is cynical- Good job, a man after my own heart. |
| Posted by: JerseyMike 2005-10-28 17:44 |
| #22 I feel a real sense of revulsion. It shows how much some of these places need to reform themselves. How can we build a more secure world with that type of attitude? It is a disgrace.â I have to admit it, TB gets my vote. Is there a better leader on the world stage? He says it like it is. Soon he will declare islam as the enemy. |
| Posted by: shistos shistadogaloo UK 2005-10-28 15:18 |
| #21 MM's are trying to get Israel to strike, definitely, but we're holding that dog's chain until the right time and until we've built the Iraqi army up enough to assist with some "border control" as we'll call it for now. The hammer and the Anvil will be in place soon enough and then we will strike. We will destroy Iran and beg Syria to do shit, anything about it, if we don't just roll over syria on the way there. But before any of this happens we must connect the Iranians and/or Syrians to a direct attack on European soil, which has probably yet to happen. We'll use such an opportunity to paint them as the evil meglomaniacal Islamofascists they are, as if we needed anything new. We need to make sure the European populace is engaged in this war sufficiently enough to guarantee a bit of Euro participation in this one.Albeit limpwristed, it couldn't hurt. Hopefully they'll help flit the bill too as these campaigns are sure to be costly. Those nifty neutron bombs could come in real handy for cleaning out the rabble or we can always rename Tehran Kryptonite town and use a few of our nukes that are collecting dust. When we make Iran's mosques' dusty ruins glow for a thousand years, it will be too bad. Iran can then be the global billboard that reminds China that we can throw a little party for them too if they like. I bite at the bit waiting for Iran's annihalation. The next five years will be very, very, interesting. EP |
| Posted by: ElvisHasLeftTheBuilding 2005-10-28 12:55 |
| #20 The EU summit became a failure when Gerhard Schroeder decided that he would go instead of sending incoming Chancellor Angela Merkel. I believe it was Tony Blair who cut the summit from two days to one, and essentially wiped clean the agenda -- no point in making pretty PowerPoint thingies when no decisions will be taken anyway. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2005-10-28 12:43 |
| #19 im not convinced Tony wants war now. I do think this statement helps to set the stage should he and Condi think its necessary later. But there are other geopolitical issues that give him an incentive to focus attention on Iran, esp when the Iran prez says something this outrageous. Blair sees UK as being the bridge between the US and Europe, and gaining leverage and power from that. Its real hard to make such gains when the US and the core Euro states (France and Germany) are at each others diplomatic throats, as they were during 2003, 2004. UK has a stake in reconciling US and Europe. This Iranian statement tends to push France and Germany in the direction of the US (and away from Russia) and this eases the whole UK position, at least from Blairs view (of course to the UK left, its unwise to be as close to the US as Blair is, while to the UK right, its unwise to be as close to Europe as Blair is) |
| Posted by: Liberalhawk 2005-10-28 10:28 |
| #18 Mr Ahmadinejadâs words triggered international condemnation Not much outrage so far from the Arab world as far as I've seen. |
| Posted by: DepotGuy 2005-10-28 09:40 |
| #17 JtP: I've got another conspiracy theory. I think that THE IRANIANS did this deliberately to distract attention from the Voelker report on their good buddies the Russians, French and Germans. Look how fast the VR will be buried now. |
| Posted by: AlanC 2005-10-28 09:08 |
| #16 The left can't win the 'bring the boys home' debate. Every time there is a lul, one of these sand monkeys makes an untimely move. If it's not a clandestine statement, then it's a Bali bomb. The left should realize that being the third wheel in a conflict like this is a ridiculous strategy, and join the fun. |
| Posted by: wxjames 2005-10-28 08:46 |
| #15 There's a theory going around that Blair said this to make headlines and distract from the fact that the Euro summit he was hosting has been a complete failure. |
| Posted by: Jake-the-Peg 2005-10-28 08:22 |
| #14 Excuse the spelling, Bonehead. You spell it for me. My meaning is England is Churchillian, unfortunately it's Ward. I miss Winston who was tossed out by the electorate in 1952 for labour Clemente Attlee who threatened by Arab oil loss did the English thing and frenched-out. England did not vote for Israeli statehood at the U.N in 1948. The English people are another story and filled with decency and heroism. |
| Posted by: Bardo 2005-10-28 08:12 |
| #13 Bardo's spelling seems OK. It's his word selection that leaves something to be desired. Nothing repeated use of the Delete key won't fix. Everybody should lean back and relax. Tony and George have decided it's time to do something. But neither has his domestic base behind him. Now is when the WMD screw up really comes home to roost. Tony and George are going to have to get more statements like the recent one from the MM to mobilize the home front. Pressure via Syria. Leading up to a Congressional declaration of war by another name in the summer of 2006 just before the mid term elections. Just after the elections, we will strike. So stock up on popcorn now. My son's pack is taking orders now. |
| Posted by: Unains Shomonter6310 2005-10-28 08:07 |
| #12 Bardo, that little button at the top of the screen...? The one that says "spellcheck?".... Use it next time. Bonehead. |
| Posted by: Ironhead 2005-10-28 07:30 |
| #11 Hey Bardo - remove the digit from your sphincter - Tony's on the warpath against our 'owners' |
| Posted by: Howard UK 2005-10-28 06:53 |
| #10 It's a GREAT DAY to be in the MILITARY!! |
| Posted by: ARMYGUY 2005-10-28 06:47 |
| #9 The statement was too obvious and outfront for the traditionally evil and anti-semitic, anti-Israel Arabist Blair and the English. After the WW2 no country allowed Jews enrance. They were still kept in camps. The English killed these newly freed concentration camp victims as they fled Europe. Arabs told them to. The EU is solidly against Israel as European mindless historic anti-semitism impels. Besides Arab money owns most of Europe so those lazy socialists must jump. |
| Posted by: Bardo 2005-10-28 06:45 |
| #8 Wot Frank G, JosephMendiola, Rex Mundi, Kristeen Kid, Dishman, Howard UK and Zenster said. BTW where's Mrs. D? |
| Posted by: Red Dog 2005-10-28 05:49 |
| #7 It was the first time Mr Blair had even hinted at military action and his words are likely to alarm Labour MPs. Yet psychotic anti-Semitism that suggests Israel should be "wiped off the map" does not alarm these Nancy-boy MPs even more? They should be bloody d@mned grateful that someone amongst them still has a functioning set of ballocks. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2005-10-28 05:03 |
| #6 He could be successful yet - just hope that British aircraft join in. Good on you Tony... |
| Posted by: Howard UK 2005-10-28 04:36 |
| #5 Ahmadinejad is trying to provoke Israel... trying to force them to take out Iran's nuclear program. |
| Posted by: Dishman 2005-10-28 03:21 |
| #4 Folks, there's a storm a brewin'. |
| Posted by: Rex Mundi 2005-10-28 02:34 |
| #3 I thank God there are strong able leaders (judges) like Tony Blair who have been able to rise to the top of their country in spite of the fact he has had to overcome thousands of evil opponents like George Galloway and had to endure a mass of ignorant and unappreciative subjects. May God grant Tony Blair victory over the ayatollahs and grant him eternal rest. May God be merciful and protect His people Israel from Islamic nuclear annihilation. |
| Posted by: Kristeen Kid 2005-10-28 02:10 |
| #2 BLAIR understands it - to destroy ISRAEL is to destroy by extension both AMERICA, BRITAIN, AND THE ENTIRE WESTERN WORLD. Russia's wafflins reminds me of that great skit in BLOOM COUNTY comics from the 1980's, where the Terrorist demands only one hour or something, but Amer Big Media unilat keeps giving more airtime than what was demanded, and giving more airtime, "plus a spot on COSBY", while labeling the terrorist as an "animal". |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2005-10-28 02:00 |
| #1 Mahmoud: "oops" |
| Posted by: Frank G 2005-10-28 00:46 |