Blair to 'tough it out' on Iraq
BBC News 27 March 2006. British Prime Minister Tony Blair has defended his Iraq policy in a speech to the Australian Parliament in Canberra.
"If the going gets tough, we tough it out," he said, as he stressed the need for a global alliance to fight terror.
This had to include the US, he said, despite the "madness" of anti-American feelings in Europe, Mr Blair said.
Starting his three-nation tour, he said an "interconnected world" meant it was vital to engage in problems like climate change and the Middle East.
In the address - the first to the Australian Parliament by a British prime minister - Mr Blair said the situation in Iraq and Afghanistan needed "toughing out" but this was no time for hesitation.
"This is not a time to walk away but to have the courage to see it through," he said.
He denied democracy had been foisted on Islamic countries but said the way the people had embraced the elections was a symbol of hope and an endorsement for these values.
These are not western ethics but universal ones which should be the right of the "global citizen", said Mr Blair.