Prime Minister's Statement 7 October 2001
Published Thursday 4th October 2001
Prime Minister, Rt Hon Tony Blair MP
The Prime Minister gave the following statement at 1850 hrs BST on Sunday 7 October 2001:
As you all know from the announcement by President Bush,
military action against targets inside Afghanistan has
begun.
I can confirm that UK forces are engaged in this action.
I want to pay tribute at the outset to Britain's armed
forces. There is no greater strength for a British prime
minister and the British nation at a time like this to know
that the forces we are calling upon are amongst the best in
the world.
They and their families are of course carrying an immense
burden at this moment and will be feeling deep anxiety, as
will the British people, but we can take great pride in
their courage, their sense of duty, and the esteem with
which they are held throughout the world.
No country lightly commits forces to military action and the
inevitable risks involved.
We made clear following the attacks upon the US on 11
September that we would take action once it was clear who
was responsible.
There is no doubt in my mind, nor in the mind of anyone who
has been through all the available evidence, including
intelligence material, that these attacks were carried out
by the Al Qaida network headed by Usama Bin Laden.
Equally it is clear that they are harboured and supported by
the Taliban regime inside Afghanistan. It is now almost a
month since the atrocity occurred.
It is more than two weeks since an ultimatum was delivered
to the Taliban to yield up the terrorists or face the
consequences.
It is clear beyond doubt that the Taliban will not do this.
They were given the choice of siding with justice, or siding
with terror. They chose terror.
There are three parts, all equally important, to the
operation in which we are engaged - military, diplomatic and
humanitarian.
The military action we are taking will be targeted against
places we know to be involved in the Al Qaida network of
terror or against the military apparatus of the Taliban.
The military plan has been put together mindful of our
determination to do all we humanly can to avoid civilian
casualties.
I cannot disclose how long this wave of action will last.
But we will act with reason and resolve.
We have set the objective to pursue those responsible for
the attacks, to eradicate Bin Laden's network of terrorism
and to take action against the Taliban regime that is
sponsoring him.
After the precise British involvement, I can confirm that
last Wednesday the US government made a specific request
that a number of UK military assets be used in the operation
which has now begun, and that I gave the authority for these
assets to be deployed.
They include the base at Diego Garcia, reconnaissance and
other aircraft and missile-firing submarines.
The missile-firing submarines are in use tonight. The air
assets will be available for use in the coming days.
The US are obviously providing the bulk of the force
required and leading the operation.
But this is an international effort. As well as the UK,
France, Germany, Australia and Canada have also committed
themselves to take part in it.
On the diplomatic and political fronts, in the time I have
been Prime Minister, I cannot recall a situation that has
commanded so quickly such a powerful coalition of support -
not just from those countries directly involved in military
action but from many others in all parts of the world.
That coalition has strengthened not weakened in the 26 days
since the atrocity occurred.
This is no small measure due to the statesmanship of
President Bush.
The world understands that whilst of course there are
dangers in acting as we are, the dangers of inaction are
far, far greater - the threat of further such outrages, the
threats to our economies, the threat to the stability of the
world.
On the humanitarian front, we are assembling a coalition of
support for refugees in and outside Afghanistan, which is as
vital as the military coalition.
Even before September 11, four million Afghans were on the
move. There are two million refugees in Pakistan and one and
a half million in Iran.
We have to ask for humanitarian reasons to alleviate the
appalling suffering of the Afghan people and to deliver
stability so that people from that region stay in that
region.
We have already contributed £36 million to the humanitarian
effort and stand ready to do more.
So we are taking action therefore on three fronts -
military, diplomatic and humanitarian.
I also want to say very directly to the British people why
this matters so much to Britain.
First, let us not forget that the attacks of 11 September
represented the worst terrorist outrage against British
citizens in our history.
The murder of British citizens, whether it happened overseas
or not, is an attack upon Britain. But even if no British
citizen had died, we would be right to act.
This atrocity was an attack on us all, on people of all
faiths and people of none.
We know the Al Qaida network threatens Europe, including
Britain, and indeed any nation throughout the world that
does not share their fanatical views.
So we have a direct interest in acting in our self-defence
to protect British lives. It was an attack on lives and
livelihoods.
The airlines, tourism and other industries have been
affected, and economic confidence has suffered with all that
means to British jobs and business.
Our prosperity and standard of living require us to deal
with the terrorist threat. We act also because the Al Qaida
network and the Taliban regime are funded in large parts on
the drugs trade - 90% of all heroin sold in Britain
originates from Afghanistan. Stopping that trade is again
directly in our interests.
I wish to say finally, as I have said many times before,
that this is not a war with Islam.
It angers me, as it angers the vast majority of Muslims, to
hear Bin Laden and his associates described as Islamic
terrorists.
They are terrorists pure and simple. Islam is a peaceful and
tolerant religion, and the acts of these people are contrary
to the teachings of the Koran.
These are difficult and testing times for us all. People are
bound to be concerned about what the terrorists may seek to
do in response.
I should say there is at present no specific credible threat
to the United Kingdom that we know of and that we have in
place tried and tested contingency plans which are the best
possible response to any further attempts at terror.
This is a moment of utmost gravity for the world. None of
the leaders involved in this action want war.
None of our nations want it. We are peaceful people.
But we know that sometimes to safeguard peace, we have to
fight.
Britain has learnt that lesson many times in our history. We
only do it if the cause is just. This cause is just.
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