Tony Blair has claimed that the war with Islamic extremists will be a generation-long struggl
And he warned that Britain could soon be in the same position with Iran as it was with Iraq in 2003.
It is wholly unacceptable for Iran to have nuclear weapons capability and we have got to be prepared to confront them. If necessary, militarily, he told Andrew Marr on the BBC last night his first full TV interview since standing down as prime minister.
On his decision to send troops into Iraq, he urged critics to keep an open mind. Because we are about to face, in respect of Iran, a very similar decision, he said.
I would never, not on my watch, if I had anything to do with it, allow Iran to get nuclear weapons capability.
There is not a single part of the Middle East that is not touched by exactly the same problem as we have in Iraq and Afghanistan today and my view is the West has got to understand this is a generation-long struggle and weve got to be in it.
Asked if he thought there was a world war between the west and Islam following the September 11 attacks, Mr Blair said: Well, this extremist strain of Islam, yes.
In his memoir, A Journey, published yesterday, he said the struggle against Islamist terrorism must be continued for as long as is necessary and could last decades.
If, in the 1950s, when faced with the threat of revolutionary Communism, I had asked you how long you expected us to fight it, you would have answered: As long as that threat exists.
And he warned that Britain could soon be in the same position with Iran as it was with Iraq in 2003.
It is wholly unacceptable for Iran to have nuclear weapons capability and we have got to be prepared to confront them. If necessary, militarily, he told Andrew Marr on the BBC last night his first full TV interview since standing down as prime minister.
On his decision to send troops into Iraq, he urged critics to keep an open mind. Because we are about to face, in respect of Iran, a very similar decision, he said.
I would never, not on my watch, if I had anything to do with it, allow Iran to get nuclear weapons capability.
There is not a single part of the Middle East that is not touched by exactly the same problem as we have in Iraq and Afghanistan today and my view is the West has got to understand this is a generation-long struggle and weve got to be in it.
Asked if he thought there was a world war between the west and Islam following the September 11 attacks, Mr Blair said: Well, this extremist strain of Islam, yes.
In his memoir, A Journey, published yesterday, he said the struggle against Islamist terrorism must be continued for as long as is necessary and could last decades.
If, in the 1950s, when faced with the threat of revolutionary Communism, I had asked you how long you expected us to fight it, you would have answered: As long as that threat exists.
