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PM interview with British Forces Broadcasting Service
[20 December 2002]
INTERVIEWER:
Prime Minister, preparations are already under way for possible military action in Iraq, making it a very uncertain time for the British Forces. What can you tell us about any possible military action?
PRIME MINISTER:
I am sorry about the uncertainty. I am afraid it is inevitable though because at the moment we simply don’t know whether Iraq will be found in breach of the United Nations resolution. If it is and if we discover they have been refusing to cooperate properly, or haven’t cooperated properly with the United Nations inspectors, then we have always made it clear that we will go back to the Security Council, but we will be prepared to use force in order to ensure that they are disarmed of all chemical, biological and potentially nuclear weapons.
INTERVIEWER:
It is a very difficult one for you because you don’t really know when, if we do, to go in. So is the military do you think able to have enough notice in order to do the things that you would want them to do?
PRIME MINISTER:
I think the key thing at the moment is to make all the preparations necessary and to make sure that we are building up the capacity in the region, both the Americans and ourselves, and making sure that we are able to undertake this mission if it falls to us to do so, because at the moment we simply don’t know whether the weapons inspectors will find the breach or not. We have got to be very, very clear however that the only circumstances in my view in which Iraq will cooperate properly is if whatever United Nations resolution we have is backed up by the potential use of force.
INTERVIEWER:
It has been a very busy year for Service personnel. On top of all their usual commitments they have led Isaf in Afghanistan, they provided fire cover in the UK and they have been preparing for possible military action against Iraq. What are your thoughts on what they have achieved this year and are you obviously conscious of the stretch?
PRIME MINISTER:
I certainly am conscious of the extraordinary range of work that we ask them to do and I often reflect on this, that before I became Prime Minister I would of course always have paid tribute to the Armed Forces, as any sensible politician does, but since I have become Prime Minister I have been absolutely lost in admiration for what they manage to do and the sheer range of tasks that they undertake and the brilliance with which they undertake each one of them. And I have been involved in situations here at home recently when I visited some of the Armed Forces at Darlington and saw the Navy, and Air Force, and Army personnel working on providing fire cover excellently with tremendous good humour and a total willingness to get on with the job. I have seen them in Afghanistan, I have seen them in Sierra Leone, I have seen them out in the exercise in Oman, they are amazing and they are a huge asset to any British Prime Minister.
INTERVIEWER:
There is a possibility that you may soon have to decide whether troops go into action in the Gulf. On a more personal level, if you do have to make that decision, how hard will it be for you?
PRIME MINISTER:
These are the hardest decisions because you are aware that you are putting people’s lives at risk and that is why we should never undertake conflict unless we have exhausted all other options and possibilities. But it is also the case, as I think we have seen in the fight against international terrorism, as we have seen in situations like Kosovo, and as we see when we are dealing with someone like Saddam Hussein, unless you do have the capability to use force if necessary, it is very hard to make the world a more secure and more peaceful place. And sometimes I think the best, indeed the only way, of avoiding war is to be prepared for one if you have to have it.
INTERVIEWER:
What is your message to the British forces community this Christmas, before what is likely to be an extremely demanding year?
PRIME MINISTER:
Gratitude on my own behalf, but I think on behalf of all the people in the country, for what the Armed Forces do, which is magnificent. I am afraid also the expectation there will be a lot more to do in the upcoming year, but also to say that I think they can take tremendous pride in their reputation worldwide. The other thing that has come home to me very forcibly in the last few years is that anywhere you go in the world people congratulate you on the strength and determination and professionalism of the Armed Forces. You know one of the most interesting things that happened to me was when we were undertaking the action in Afghanistan, I had a whole stream of experts come in to tell me, who knew Afghanistan extremely well, and they said one thing is for sure, the Afghans because of tradition, history, culture, religion, they will not want British troops on the streets of Kabul patrolling the capital in Afghanistan. When we actually went in and we led that security force, I had a terrible job actually managing to get out of the leadership of that force because such was the praise coming for them from ordinary Afghans, from the political leaders in Afghanistan who said that the longer you can keep the British here, the better. And I don’t think there is a better tribute to them than that. So as well as thanks, I think they can take real pride in the work they do.
INTERVIEWER:
Prime Minister, thank you very much indeed and a very happy Christmas.
PRIME MINISTER:
The same to you.
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