Tony Blair made a surprise visit to British soldiers in Basra and then flew into Baghdad for a meeting with Ayad Allawi. Following Blair's meeting with Allawi, Iraqi election officials and British consulate workers, both Allwai and Blair held a press conference.

Among the questions posed by journalists was this one (link via Power Line):

Q: Andrew Marr: Many thousands of people have died for this moment, including scores of British people, are you sure that this prize [word indistinct] was worth that price?

Tony Blair: When I meet the people working alongside the United Nations - Iraqis in fear of their life every day, because they are trying to bring freedom and democracy to their people - when I see their courage and their determination and know that they speak for the vast majority of people in Iraq who want that democracy and freedom, then I know that we are doing the right thing.

And whatever people felt about the original conflict, we the British aren't a nation of quitters. What's very obvious to me is that the Iraqi people here, they're not going to quit on this task either - they're going to see it through. And just imagine the difference that a stable and democratic Iraq would make - not just to people in Iraq but throughout the whole of the region and the world - now when I see that, yes, I believe we did the right thing.

And I will also say this to you, there are people dying in Iraq but the reason people are dying is because of the terrorism and the intimidation and the people who are deliberately killing anyone trying to make this country better.

Now what should our response be as an international community? Our response should be to stand alongside the democrats - the people who've got the courage to see this thing through - and help them see it through. I've got no doubt at all that that is the right thing for us to do.

Blair is one of those people who looks at things in the long-term rather than the short-term. Those who oppose Democracy in Iraq also look long-term which is why someone like Blair needs to project this type of leadership and resolve in bringing ultimate freedom to the millions in Iraq.

Cross-posted at In the Bullpen

Posted by: Chad at 02:10 PM | Comments (7) | Add Comment
Post contains 439 words, total size 3 kb.