Blair tells Arabs: no conquest

By MARIE WOOLF

LONDON - British Prime Minister Tony Blair has made a direct appeal to the Arab world assuring it that British forces are not fighting "a war of conquest but of liberation" and will leave Iraq "as soon as practicable".

In an article published in several Arab newspapers, he claimed "history will judge that we made the right choice" over Iraq.

His call to Middle Eastern peoples is part of the propaganda battle being fought by coalition forces.

The Government is concerned by the lack of backing in the Arab world for the war on Iraq and accusations that America and Britain are planning to occupy the country after toppling Saddam Hussein's regime.

Blair sought to quash such fears and said his quarrel was "not with the Iraqi people but with Saddam, his sons, and his barbarous regime which has brought misery and terror to their country".

"I recognise that the Iraqi people have been the biggest victims of Saddam's rule. This is not a war of conquest but of liberation," he said.

Blair also tried to address fears about civilian deaths in Iraq. He said coalition forces were doing "all that is humanly possible to minimise civilian casualties and finish this campaign quickly". But he admitted that "mistakes will be made" and military conflict "always leads to the loss of civilian lives".

The Prime Minister said there "has been no rush to conflict" and Britain and America "had hoped that military action could be avoided".

Going to war against Saddam Hussein was "a hard and difficult decision". But he believed it would "make the Middle East and the wider world a safer place".

Removing the dictator from power would prove "a blessing for all the Iraqi people".

The article follows reports of young Arab men travelling to Iraq to fight for Saddam's regime.

Blair said Britain had pledged an extra £150 million ($428 million) in aid and was working with the UN to help repair the damage done to Iraq by a quarter of a century of tyranny.

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Herald Feature: Iraq war