Radicalised extremism still a threat, says Blair

FORMER Prime Minister Tony Blair insisted yesterday that “significant blows” had been struck in the war on terror, but warned that radicalised extremists still posed a threat.

On the eve of the tenth anniversary of 9/11, he defended the actions he took in the wake of the atrocity and said it was “deeply naive” to believe the West was responsible for creating extremist Islamic factions.

“It is not because of something we are doing to them,” he told the BBC. “They believe in what they believe in because they believe their religion compels them to believe in it.”

Blair added: “I think it will take a generation, but the way to defeat this ideology ultimately is by a better idea, and we have it, which is a way of life based on openness, democracy, freedom and the rule of law.”

He insisted he had “constantly” reassessed the course of action he pursued during his time at No 10.

“It is perfectly possible to argue you could have handled the aftermath of 9/11 differently. You could have said we should not invade Afghanistan, instead what we should do is try to corral these people by various security methods,” he said.

“I’m afraid my view is that actually this is a spectrum of which the terrorists are at one end, but actually that spectrum of radical Islamism goes far, far deeper than we think.

“It is profound, it is an ideology, it is a movement and it is still there, still with us.

Blair indicated he would be supportive of military action against Iran if it continues to attempt to develop nuclear weapons.

He said: “If necessary, we have to got to be prepared to use force to stop their military nuclear programme. I don’t think it would include invasion, but I think you cannot rule out the use of military force against Iran if they continue to develop nuclear weapons in breach of the international community’s obligations on them.”