Tony Blair

British PM Tony Blair paid a surprise visit to Iraq today, meeting with British troops and PM Allawi. During a joint press conference held by the two Prime Ministers Blair was asked the following question:

Q: Nick Robinson, ITV News: Can you just give us a sense of your feelings today? You flew here in secrecy under armed protection into what is still a safe zone more than a year and a half after Saddam fell. Can you honestly say to yourself, this is what I meant to bring about when I said that we ought to invade Iraq?

Now this was just another condescending, elitist question from what is for the most part a condescending, elitist press. The question is not what we should be paying attention to however, but rather the Prime Minister's eloquent response, which really encapsulates what we are doing over there:

That's a good question. I'll tell you exactly what I felt coming in. Security is really heavy - you can feel the sense of danger that people live in here. But what I felt more than anything else was this - the danger that people feel here is coming from terrorists and insurgents who are trying to destroy the possibility of this country becoming a democracy. Now where do we stand in that fight? We stand on the side of the democrats against the terrorists. And so when people say to me, well look at the difficulties, look at the challenges - I say well what's the source of that challenge - the source of that challenge is a wicked, destructive attempt to stop this man, this lady, all these people from Iraq, who want to decide their own future in a democratic way, having that opportunity. And where should the rest of the world stand? To say, well that's your problem, go and look after it, or you're better off with Saddam Hussein running the country - as if the only choice they should have in the world is a choice between a brutal dictator killing hundreds of thousands of people or terrorists and insurgents. There is another choice for Iraq - the choice is democracy, the choice is freedom - and our job is to help them get there because that's what they want. Sometimes when I see some of the reporting of what's happening in Iraq in the rest of the world, I just feel that people should understand how precious what has been created here is. And those people from that electoral commission that I described as the heroes of the new Iraq - every day... a lot of them aren't living in the Green Zone, they've got to travel in from outside - they do not know at any point in time, whether they're going to be subject to brutality or intimidation even death and yet they carry on doing it. Now what a magnificent example of the human spirit- that's the side we should be on.

Mr. Blair's belief in spreading democracy is truly admirable, and it is only surpassed by his courage to fight for that belief despite the overwhelming opposition towards him from many in his country and throughout Europe. Blair is the best friend America has, and he deserves the admiration and thanks of every American. To read the transcript of his address to congress in 2003, click here. It is one of the most stirring, patriotic speeches you will ever hear.

Hat Tip: Powerline