Tony Blair's Speech to the House of Commons

Monday, March 24, 2003.

I happened to catch the prime minister's speech on C-SPAN yesterday:

.... We are now just four days into this conflict. It is worth restating our central objectives. They are to remove Saddam Hussein from power and ensure Iraq is disarmed of all chemical, biological and nuclear weapons programmes. But in achieving these objectives, we have also embraced other considerations. We want to do this campaign in a way that minimises the suffering of ordinary Iraqi people, brutalised by Saddam; to safeguard the wealth of the country for the future prosperity of the people; and to make this a war not of conquest but of liberation.

For this reason, we did not, as some expected, mount a heavy bombing campaign first, followed by a land campaign. Instead, land forces were immediately in action, securing oil installations, gaining strategic assets and retaining them, not destroying them. The air campaign has been precisely targeted. Of course there will have been civilian casualties. But we have done all we humanly can, to keep them to a minimum. Water and electricity supplies are being spared. The targets are the infrastructure, command and control of Saddam's regime not of the civilian population. And we are making massive efforts to clear lines of supply for humanitarian aid, though the presence of mines is hindering us.

By contrast, the nature of Saddam's regime is all too plainly expressed in its actions. The oil wealth was mined and deep-mined at that. Had we not struck quickly, Iraq's future wealth would even now be burning away. Prisoners are being paraded in defiance of all international conventions. Those who dare speak criticism of the regime are being executed....

I watched for a while afterwards. Questions were addressed to the PM, first from the leader of the Conservatives, and then from the leader of the Liberal Democrats. (Tony Blair, of course, heads the Labour Party.)

Two things struck me about the questions. First, they were tough and very much to the point. Second, they were not, as far as I could tell, the least bit hostile: it seemed to me that they were asked, not as political footballs, but for the purpose of trying to assure that the war effort will be successfully prosecuted.

It almost made me wish we could trade the Congress for the Parliament.

Lane Core Jr. CIW P — Tue. 03/25/03 12:41:44 PM
Categorized as International & Speeches and Suchlike.