British Prime Minister Tony Blair said Saturday it is crucial to address terrorism's underlying causes, which he identified as deprivation, lack of democracy and ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
Thursday's bomb attacks on London demonstrate the pressing need for world leaders to tackle problems like poverty, he told British Broadcasting Corp. radio. He said leaders had taken on some of those issues at the G-8 summit of the world's wealthy nations in Scotland this week.
'I think this type of terrorism has very deep roots,' Blair said. 'As well as dealing with the consequences of this — trying to protect ourselves as much as any civil society can — you have to try to pull it up by its roots,' he said.
That meant boosting understanding between people of difference religions, helping people in the Middle East see a path to democracy and easing the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, he said.
Wow. Lockerbie, the USS Cole, the first WTC attack, the Luxor massacre, Bali nightclub, Madrid, Istanbul, Tripoli, and now London - what they have in common is poverty, lack of democracy and the Middle East?
Somehow, I thought that what they had in common was a murderous political ideology aimed at world domination under the name of Islam. Silly me....if only Israel would give up land, none of these attacks would have occurred, according to Mr. Blair.
I guess the fact that much of the incitement to kill Jews comes out of merry old England doesn't bother Tony one bit. We just have to "understand" the murderers better, so they will feel more "fulfilled."
I really, really hope that he was playing politics with this incredibly stupid statement and that he doesn't believe it.
UPDATE:
AL-QAEDA is secretly recruiting affluent, middle-class Muslims in British universities and colleges to carry out terrorist attacks in this country, leaked Whitehall documents reveal.But I thought the terrorists were poverty-stricken!
A network of “extremist recruiters” is circulating on campuses targeting people with “technical and professional qualifications”, particularly engineering and IT degrees.
Time to wake up, Mr. Blair. The terrorists include people who are smart, technical, and dedicated to wiping out Western civilization. To even imply that Israel is part of the problem is to hand them a big, fat reward for killing scores of Londoners.
UPDATE 2: It seems Blair never said that; it came from the fevered imaginations of the AP.
LONDON - In a July 9 story about Prime Minister
Tony Blair's comments on overcoming global terrorism, The Associated Press erroneously reported that he spoke of easing the conflict between
Israel and the Palestinians. Blair did not specifically mention the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in his interview with the British Broadcasting Corp.