Terrorism must be tackled "head on" - PM

21 March 2006

Victory for democracy in Iraq and Afghanistan is vital if global terrorism is to be defeated, Tony Blair has said.

The PM told an audience in London that Britain's foreign policy was "strongly activist".

He spoke about the "deep roots" of extremism and ways it could be confronted.

• Watch the speech again

But terrorism will not be defeated until "its ideas, the poison that warps the minds of its adherents, are confronted, head-on, in their essence, at their core".

Commenting on the so-called "war on terror", Mr Blair continued:

"This is not a clash between civilisations, it is a clash about civilisation.

"It is the age-old battle between progress and reaction, between those who embrace and see opportunity in the modern world and those who reject its existence; between optimism and hope on the one hand; and pessimism and fear on the other."

• Read the transcript

This was the first of three speeches on international issues the PM will make over the next few weeks.

In the second he will "outline the importance of a broad global alliance to achieve our common goals" and in the third he will say "how the international institutions need radical reform to make them capable of implementing such an agenda."

You will able to watch the next two speeches in the series on this website in the coming weeks.