PM addresses US Congress

PM addresses US Congress

In his speech to the US Congress on 17 July, Prime Minister Tony Blair said that power alone will not defeat the "evil" of terrorism. "Our ultimate weapon is not our guns but our beliefs," he said.

Mr Blair said the virus of terrorism is intent on inflicting destruction and is unconstrained by human feeling. He warned that the capacity of terrorists to inflict damage is enlarged by technology.

He said that terrorism would not be defeated without peace in the Middle East between Israel and Palestine. "Here it is that the poison is incubated," he said.

Turning to the transatlantic alliance between Europe and America, Mr Blair urged America not to give up on Europe, but to work with it.

"To be a serious partner, Europe must take on and defeat the crass anti-Americanism that sometimes passes for its political discourse.

"What America must do is to show that this is a partnership built on persuasion not command."

He said that the struggle against terrorist groups or states is about liberty. "That's what we're fighting for," he said, "and that's a battle worth fighting."

"And our job, my nation that watched you grow, that you've fought alongside and now fights alongside you, that takes enormous pride in our alliance and great affection in our common bond, our job is to be there with you."

Mr Blair is the fourth UK Prime Minister to address Congress.

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