Manchester, Sept 25: Finance Minister Gordon Brown
on Monday put Britain's battle against terrorism and capacity to
compete in a global economy at the heart of his drive to
become the next Prime Minister.
Preparing for a make-or-break speech to the governing
Labour Party's annual conference, Brown stuck close to Prime
Minister Tony Blair's centrist line and said his experience
put him in the best position to meet the challenges ahead.
In an interview with BBC radio, Brown denied
suggestions he had serious personal doubts over the Blair
government's decision to join the US-led invasion of Iraq, a
move that has divided the party and the nation.
"No, but after the liberation of Iraq.... We could
have done things better," Brown replied.
He also dismissed a report leaked to the media in
which US spy agencies concluded that the war in Iraq has
spawned a new wave of Islamic radicalism and increased the
global threat of terrorism.
"I don't accept that," said the 55-year-old Chancellor
of the Exchequer who has served as Tony Blair's effective
number two since Labour came to power in 1997.
He said that Islamist extremist groups have rallied
instead around a common message about destroying the state of
Israel and building a separate international Muslim state.
However, brown stressed the war on terrorism would not
be won with military and security measures alone.
"We've got to win the battles of hearts and minds
here," Brown said. "What we've got to do is isolate the
extremists from the moderates."
Bureau Report
