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Blair to make landmark Iraq trip to thank British troops
On the British PM`s aircraft, May 28: British Prime Minister Tony Blair confirmed today he will be going to Iraq this week, becoming the first Western leader to visit since Saddam Hussein`s downfall.
On the British PM's aircraft, May 28: British Prime Minister Tony Blair confirmed today he will be going to Iraq this week, becoming the first Western leader to visit since Saddam Hussein's downfall.
"I want to see the British troops to thank them for their magnificent performance during the Gulf conflict," said Bair, whose country was the main coalition partner in the US-led war on Iraq. "People risked their lives, in some cases lost their lives, and so it's right that i go there and I see the troops there and thank them personally and thank them personally out in the theatre," he told reporters travelling with him to the Gulf. Blair, who is due in Kuwait later today, said he would also be meeting with Britain's special envoy to Iraq, John Sawers. Although he did not say when exactly he would visit Iraq, Blair is expected there tomorrow before he travels to Poland later that day. He is then due to fly on to Russia for the 300th anniversary of Saint Petersburg and then to France for next week's Group of Eight summit. It was also not revealed where precisely Blair would be going, but British forces are concentrated in the south of Iraq, including the country's second city Basra and the deep-water port of Umm Qasr. Blair was US President George W Bush's staunchest all in the war that began March 20, contributing 45,000 military personnel, plus a Naval task force and more than 100 aircraft to the campaign. Bureau Report
"I want to see the British troops to thank them for their magnificent performance during the Gulf conflict," said Bair, whose country was the main coalition partner in the US-led war on Iraq. "People risked their lives, in some cases lost their lives, and so it's right that i go there and I see the troops there and thank them personally and thank them personally out in the theatre," he told reporters travelling with him to the Gulf. Blair, who is due in Kuwait later today, said he would also be meeting with Britain's special envoy to Iraq, John Sawers. Although he did not say when exactly he would visit Iraq, Blair is expected there tomorrow before he travels to Poland later that day. He is then due to fly on to Russia for the 300th anniversary of Saint Petersburg and then to France for next week's Group of Eight summit. It was also not revealed where precisely Blair would be going, but British forces are concentrated in the south of Iraq, including the country's second city Basra and the deep-water port of Umm Qasr. Blair was US President George W Bush's staunchest all in the war that began March 20, contributing 45,000 military personnel, plus a Naval task force and more than 100 aircraft to the campaign. Bureau Report