Tony Blair on the war

From Tony Blair's speech to the Labour Party Conference today [my paragraphing]:

I never doubted after September 11th that our place was alongside America and I don't doubt it now. And for a very simple reason. Terrorism struck most dramatically in New York but it was aimed then, and is aimed now, at us all, at our way of life. This is a global struggle. Today it is at its fiercest in Iraq. It has allied itself there with every reactionary element in the Middle East. Their aim: to wreck this December's first ever direct election for the Government of Iraq.

I know there are people, good people, who disagreed with the decision to remove Saddam by force. But for two years, British troops whose bravery and dedication we salute, along with those of 27 other nations, have been in Iraq with full United Nations authority and in support of the Iraqi Government. Yes, several hundred people stoned British troops in Basra. Yes, several thousand run the terrorist insurgency around Baghdad. And yes, as a result of the fighting, innocent people tragically die.

But 8½ million Iraqis showed which future they wanted when they came out and voted in January's elections. And the way to stop the innocent dying is not to retreat, to withdraw, to hand these people over to the mercy of religious fanatics or relics of Saddam, but to stand up for their right to decide their Government in the same democratic way the British people do.

Ten days ago, after years of struggle, finally in Afghanistan, 6 million people voted freely to decide their own future. How dare the terrorists justify their campaign of hate by claiming they are angry about Afghanistan? Was it better under their Taleban? They use Iraq and Afghanistan, just as they use the cause of Palestine, whilst trying to destroy by terror the only solution that will ever work: a secure Israel living side-by-side with a viable independent and democratic Palestine.

Just as they chose the day of the G8 when the world was trying to address the heartbreaking poverty of Africa, to kill innocent people in London. Strip away their fake claims of grievance and see them for what they are: terrorists who use 21st century technology to fight a pre-medieval religious war that is utterly alien to the future of humankind.

That all seems clear. Oh, on a different matter altogether, there's also this:

Labour supporters remain loyal to Tony Blair despite the growing talk of when and how he will be succeeded by Gordon Brown, according to a Guardian/ICM poll published today.

The poll shows that only 13% of Labour backers want Mr Blair to leave office now. A majority of Conservative and Liberal Democrat supporters also want him to stay on until at least next year. Support for Mr Blair's continued leadership means that only 28% of Labour supporters want him to stand down in the next couple of years, a timeframe that now looks the most likely option.