Tony Blair's speech to congress

[Jay ay Beee]

Lots of asskissing going on

And look how he covered himself on WMD.

Even if they're not there it was right.

[Don Seer]

uhh post snippets or something plz

coz right now this post makes little sense

[mauzip]

his speech was great. everything he said was right. much respect for this man.

[Jay ay Beee]

uhh post snippets or something plz

coz right now this post makes little sense

I take it you don't watch the news?

[Jay ay Beee]

Guardian
Key quotes: Tony Blair's speech to US Congress

Simon Jeffery
Friday July 18, 2003

Blair on ... freedom

Our ultimate weapon is not our guns but our beliefs ... Ours are not Western values. They are the universal values of the human spirit and anywhere, any time, ordinary people are given the chance to choose, the choice is the same. Freedom not tyranny. Democracy not dictatorship. The rule of law not the rule of the secret police. The spread of freedom is the best security for the free. It is our last line of defence and our first line of attack.

America's role in the world

America must listen as well as lead. But don't ever apologise for your values. Tell the world why you're proud of America. Tell them that when the star-spangled banner starts, Americans get to their feet ... whatever race, colour, class or creed they are, being American means being free. That's what makes them proud. As Britain knows, all predominant power seems for a time invincible; but in fact it is transient. The question is, what do you leave behind? What you can bequeath to this anxious world is the light of liberty ... destiny put you in this place in history, in this moment in time and the task is yours to do.

The 'war on terror'

Today, none of us expect our soldiers to fight a war on our territory. The immediate threat is not war between the world's powerful nations. Why? Because we all have too much to lose ... The threat comes because, in another part of the globe, there is shadow and darkness where not all the world is free, where many millions suffer under brutal dictatorship; where a third of our planet lives in a poverty beyond anything even the poorest in our societies can imagine and where a fanatical strain of religious extremism has arisen, that is a mutation of the true and peaceful faith of Islam and because in the combination of these afflictions, a new and deadly virus has emerged. The virus is terrorism, whose intent to inflict destruction is unconstrained by human feeling; and whose capacity to inflict it is enlarged by technology.

WMDs

The risk is that terrorism and states developing weapons of mass destruction come together. And when people say, "That risk is fanciful," I say we know the Taliban supported al-Qaida. We know Iraq under Saddam gave haven to and supported terrorists. We know there are states in the Middle East now actively funding and helping people, who regard it as God's will in the act of suicide to take as many innocent lives with them on their way to God's judgment. Some of these states are desperately trying to acquire nuclear weapons.

The Iraq war (if Saddam was not developing WMDs)

If we are wrong, we will have destroyed a threat that, at its least is responsible for inhuman carnage and suffering. That is something I am confident history will forgive.

War and peace

We have to win both. You have an extraordinary record of doing so. Who helped Japan renew or Germany reconstruct or Europe get back on its feet after World War II? America. So when we invade Afghanistan or Iraq, our responsibility does not end with military victory. Finishing the fighting is not finishing the job ... How hollow would the charges of American imperialism be when these failed countries are and are seen to be transformed from states of terror to nations of prosperity.

The folly of a multipolar world

There is no more dangerous theory in international politics today than that we need to balance the power of America with other competitor powers, different poles around which nations gather. Such a theory made sense in 19th century Europe. It was perforce the position in the Cold War. Today it is an anachronism to be discarded like traditional theories of security. It is dangerous because it is not rivalry but partnership we need; a common will and a shared purpose in the face of a common threat.

America and Europe

Any alliance must start with America and Europe. Believe me if Europe and America are together, the others will work with us. But if we split, all the rest will play around, play us off and nothing but mischief will be the result of it. You may think after recent disagreements it can't be done. But the debate in Europe is open ... Today German soldiers lead in Afghanistan. French soldiers lead in the Congo where they stand between peace and a return to genocide ... To be a serious partner, Europe must take on and defeat the crass anti-Americanism that sometimes passes for its political discourse. What America must do is to show that this is a partnership built on persuasion not command.

Britain and Europe

People ask me, after the past months when let us say things were a trifle strained in Europe, why do you persist in wanting Britain at the centre of Europe? I say: maybe if the UK were a group of islands 20 miles off Manhattan I might feel differently; but we're 20 miles off Calais and joined by a tunnel. We are part of Europe - and want to be. But we also want to be part of changing Europe.

Britain and America

And our job, my nation that watched you grow, that you've fought alongside and now fights alongside you, that takes enormous pride in our alliance and great affection in our common bond, our job is to be there with you. You're not going to be alone. We'll be with you in this fight for liberty.

The UN

[If] the other great nations of our world and the small ... gather around in one place not many ... our understanding of this threat will become theirs. The United Nations can then become what it should be: an instrument of action as well as debate. The Security Council should be reformed. We need a new international regime on the non-proliferation. And we need to say clearly to UN members: if you engage in the systematic and gross abuse of human rights, in defiance of the UN charter, you can expect the same privileges as those that conform to it.

Israel and Palestine

I want to be very plain. This terrorism will not be defeated without peace in the Middle East between Israel and Palestine. Here it is that the poison is incubated. Here it is that the extremist is able to confuse in the mind of a frighteningly large number of people, the case for a Palestinian state and the destruction of Israel; and to translate this moreover into a battle between East and West, Muslim, Jew and Christian.

Iran and Syria

Iran and Syria, who give a haven to the rejectionist men of violence, [should] realise that the world will no longer countenance it; that the hand of friendship can only be offered them if they resile completely from this malice; but that if they do, that hand will be there for them and their people.

Africa

There can be no freedom for Africa without justice; and no justice without declaring war on Africa's poverty, disease and famine with as much vehemence as we remove the tyrant and the terrorist.

Free trade

In Mexico in September the world should unite and give us a trade round that opens up our markets. I'm for free trade and I'll tell you why. Because we can't say to the poorest people in the world: we want you to be free but just don't try to sell your goods in our market. And because ever since the world started to open up, it has prospered.

Sustainable development

But frankly, we need to go beyond Kyoto. Science and technology is the way. Climate change, deforestation and the voracious drain on natural resources cannot be ignored. Unchecked, these forces will hinder the economic development of the most vulnerable nations first, and ultimately, all nations. We must show the world that we are willing to step up to these challenges around the world and in our own backyard. If this seems a long way from the threat of terror and WMD it is only to say again that the world's security cannot be protected without the world's heart being won.

[Don Seer]

uhh post snippets or something plz

coz right now this post makes little sense

I take it you don't watch the news?

not while i'm sat at work no

[Jay ay Beee]

Sat in work at 10PM last night?

lol  

[Don Seer]

no i was watching gremlins on ch5 then.. if i watch any news prog its ch4 news at 7.. coz its after hollyoaks  

[Jay ay Beee]

Chester wankers the lot of them

[Trauma-san]

It was a great speech, I'm starting to believe that Tony Blair may be on the level of Bill Clinton, in his vocal abilities.  I have the HIGHEST respect for this guy, he hung his ass out on the line, and I'm convinced the reason he did it was; he thought it was best for England.  He thought 1. Iraq truly was a threat, and 2. isolating england from america would do unrepairable damage that would forever subjugate england TO america, as the sole superpower in the world.  As it stands now, England is more powerful than it has been in years.  

You convienantly left off a portion of the speech on WMD, thank you.  I'll post the entire section, and you can see just how BRILLIANT this man is.  He explains things like I only WISH george bush could.


First off, Blair is an EXCELLENT speaker, like I mentioned, but you folks probably already know that.  He started off by receiving the congressional medal of Honor, and graciously accepted it, only after saying he didn't deserve it.  He then said

"Mr. Speaker, sir, my thrill on receiving this award was only a little diminished on being told that the first Congressional Gold Medal was awarded to George Washington for what Congress called his "wise and spirited conduct" in getting rid of the British out of Boston."

HILARIOUS.  he has such a deadpan delivery, too, that it was just funny as hell.

"On our way down here, Senator Frist was kind enough to show me the fireplace where, in 1814, the British had burnt the Congress Library. I know this is, kind of, late, but sorry."

Again, hilarious, the entire joint congress erupted in laughter, I laughed my ass off when I heard him say it, he sounded like he was afraid he was going to get beat up, lol.

"Actually, you know, my middle son was studying 18th century history and the American War of Independence, and he said to me the other day, "You know, Lord North, Dad, he was the British prime minister who lost us America. So just think, however many mistakes you'll make, you'll never make one that bad."

LOL then he gets into his speech.  Ice broken, everybody's attentuated, great speaker.

Key Exercepts I think are important:

"There never has been a time when the power of America was so necessary or so misunderstood, or when, except in the most general sense, a study of history provides so little instruction for our present day. "

"There is a myth that though we love freedom, others don't; that our attachment to freedom is a product of our culture; that freedom, democracy, human rights, the rule of law are American values, or Western values; that Afghan women were content under the lash of the Taliban; that Saddam was somehow beloved by his people; that Milosevic was Serbia's savior. "

"We must find the strength to fight for this idea and the compassion to make it universal. Abraham Lincoln said, "Those that deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves." And it is this sense of justice that makes moral the love of liberty."

"Some of these states are desperately trying to acquire nuclear weapons. We know that companies and individuals with expertise sell it to the highest bidder, and we know that at least one state, North Korea, lets its people starve while spending billions of dollars on developing nuclear weapons and exporting the technology abroad.

This isn't fantasy, it is 21st-century reality, and it confronts us now.

Can we be sure that terrorism and weapons of mass destruction will join together? Let us say one thing: If we are wrong, we will have destroyed a threat that at its least is responsible for inhuman carnage and suffering. That is something I am confident history will forgive.

But if our critics are wrong, if we are right, as I believe with every fiber of instinct and conviction I have that we are, and we do not act, then we will have hesitated in the face of this menace when we should have given leadership. That is something history will not forgive."

EXACTLY, exactly.  Why more people don't think this way is beyond me.  Where is the compassion these people claim to have, for the citizens of Iraq? They're worried about casualties, but not worried about the regime they lived under? What?  It's SIMPLY anti-americanism.  People do not trust us, when if they would turn through their history books, they would see we deserve to be trusted.  

[Jay ay Beee]

You convienantly left off a portion of the speech on WMD, thank you.

I cut and pasted the whole thing from The Guardian's website baby

[Trauma-san]

More exercepts from Blair's eloquent speech yesterday:

"And then reflect on this: How hollow would the charges of American imperialism be when these failed countries are and are seen to be transformed from states of terror to nations of prosperity, from governments of dictatorship to examples of democracy, from sources of instability to beacons of calm.

And how risible would be the claims that these were wars on Muslims if the world could see these Muslim nations still Muslim, but with some hope for the future, not shackled by brutal regimes whose principal victims were the very Muslims they pretended to protect?

It would be the most richly observed advertisement for the values of freedom we can imagine. When we removed the Taliban and Saddam Hussein, this was not imperialism. For these oppressed people, it was their liberation.

And why can the terrorists even mount an argument in the Muslim world that it isn't? "

Plainly said, beautifully stated, I haven't heard anyone talk this way since the whole thing begun.

"And I know it's hard on America, and in some small corner of this vast country, out in Nevada or Idaho or these places I've never been to, but always wanted to go...

I know out there there's a guy getting on with his life, perfectly happily, minding his own business, saying to you, the political leaders of this country, "Why me? And why us? And why America?"

And the only answer is, "Because destiny put you in this place in history, in this moment in time, and the task is yours to do."

And our job, my nation that watched you grow, that you fought alongside and now fights alongside you, that takes enormous pride in our alliance and great affection in our common bond, our job is to be there with you.

You are not going to be alone. We will be with you in this fight for liberty.

We will be with you in this fight for liberty. And if our spirit is right and our courage firm, the world will be with us.

Thank you. "

TONY BLAIR FOR PRESIDENT!!!!

[Trauma-san]

You convienantly left off a portion of the speech on WMD, thank you.

I cut and pasted the whole thing from The Guardian's website baby

Which is an EXTREMELY liberal website, and didn't provide the entire text of the speech, cutting out for instance the part where Blair said that he believes we are right, and only pasting the part where he supposed we may be wrong.  

[Jay ay Beee]

EXACTLY, exactly.  Why more people don't think this way is beyond me.  Where is the compassion these people claim to have, for the citizens of Iraq? They're worried about casualties, but not worried about the regime they lived under? What?  It's SIMPLY anti-americanism.  People do not trust us, when if they would turn through their history books, they would see we deserve to be trusted.  

That's where you simply don't understand.  It would be great, if the 'coalition' could go and free everybody in the world that lives under tyranny.  But this can't happen because it's impossible; America has seven of its ten divisions in Iraq, Afghanistan and on the Korean border already.  The right war, fought for the wrong reasons, can never be right.  Blair misled the British people and is feeling the backlash.  He still claims the forgery presented by the British and used in Bush's state of the union address in January was correct, even though the CIA says it is crap, and so does the IAEA.  Bush is feeling some backlash in America as well.

I repeat: The right war, fought for the wrong reasons, can never be right.

[Trauma-san]

^^ You're full of shit.  The forgery WAS crap, but there was other nearly identical intelligence that BRITIAN had, that was credible.  He's not saying the forgery's credible.  PAY ATTENTION, I KNOW THE BIG BOYS TALK FAST.