Blair met with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani and Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki for about an hour Saturday morning before the conference. He said there were real signs of progress in the country and the British government would continue to support the Iraqi people even after he leaves office. But he was less composed when asked about the mortar attacks earlier in the day. “There are mortar attacks and terrorist attacks happening every day. That’s the reality,” he said. “The question is, what are we going to do in the face of those attacks? Those attacks, by a minority of people, want to destroy the progress here. And the answer is we don’t give in to them.” And he couldn’t resist a dig at the media. “The very purpose of the attacks, the suicide bombs, the mortars aimed in here so you will carry nothing but that on your news and won’t actually talk about the progress that’s happening here.”
The exchange got more heated when a BBC reporter said the claims of progress sound like “fantasy” to Iraqis. “Well, you say that,” Blair shot back. “Why don’t you actually listen to what the person who is the president of Iraq says about Iraq? With the greatest respect to you, you’re no more qualified than me to talk. But he’s qualified and he’s qualified [pointing to Talabani and Maliki]. Because they’re actually Iraqis who are elected to govern.”
Despite Blair’s pledge for continued support, his visit coincides with the last stages of a withdrawal of approximately 1,600 Brits from Basra, leaving about 5,500 troops on the ground. Although Blair has unwaveringly supported the Iraq war effort, sometimes to his own political detriment, his successor may find it more difficult to follow the same path. The security situation in Basra has deteriorated in recent months as gunmen from rival Shiite parties have repeatedly clashed with each other. That hasn’t stopped the militiamen from targeting the Brits: last month, 12 British troops were killed, the highest casualty rate since the 2003 invasion. For his part, Blair said that the fight against Al Qaeda or any other group that hindered the country’s progress had to continue. He also sounded a warning to the Iranian government, which has a lot of influence in southern Iraq. “Iran has got to understand that it can’t support terrorism and want to work with us at the same time,” he said.
There’s little doubt that Blair had his eye on the history books when planning his final visit, trying to shore up his legacy before departing. And he was clear that he still feels the Iraq war was the right decision. “I have no regrets about removing Saddam, no,” he said.
