Compare two recent speeches of Prime Minister Tony Blair and President George W. Bush on fighting terrorism following the London bombings on July 7. Despite being the closest of allies, they portray the battle against terrorism in starkly different terms.
President Bush continues to misconstrue his “war on terror” for his own political purposes, providing vague and superficial strategies for addressing terrorism and diverting all attention to Iraq. In a speech on July 11, 2005 at the FBI Academy, President Bush states:
In the war on terror, Iraq is now the central front. The terrorists fight in Iraq because they know that the survival of their hateful ideology is at stake. They know that as freedom takes root in Iraq, it will inspire millions across the Middle East to claim their liberty as well.
Prime Minister Tony Blair, on the other hand, never uses the terminology the “war on terror” and recognizes that fighting terrorism requires more than force and superficial actions, but a deeper confrontation of causes and symptoms. In a speech on July 16, 2005, Prime Minister Tony Blair had a different take than President Bush: Read more
