US President George W Bush and visiting British Prime Minister Tony Blair took mounting criticism of US-led raids on Afghanistan head on and sunnily forecast victory in the war on terrorism. “We both recognise that we wage a fight to save civilisation and that we must prevail, and not only must prevail (but) will prevail,” Bush told reporters during a joint appearance in the White House residence on Wednesday.
“The determination to see that justice is done is every bit as strong today as it was on September the 11th,” said the British leader, the President's closest ally in the campaign. Their second meeting since the terror onslaught against the United States came amid ebbing support for the military campaign to dislodge Afghanistan's Taliban rulers for sheltering suspected terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden. The attacks have come under fire for civilian casualties, even as some have called for greater attention to the humanitarian plight of the Afghan people and for a clearer vision of a stable, post-Taliban, Afghanistan. Bush and Blair took those criticisms head on, even as the British leader denied media accounts that support for the President's campaign against terrorism is slipping among European leaders once solidly behind Washington. “That coalition, if anything, is even stronger today,” he said. “From the discussions I had with European leaders just a few days ago, their commitment is real and their determination is also absolute to see this thing done.” Bureau Report