British Prime Minister Tony Blair Tuesday vowed to continue the "global fight against terror in Iraq, Afghanistan or anywhere else" but conceded that his view was "not popular, " reported dpa. Speaking in a BBC interview, the British leader also said it was "wrong" for large parts of the western world to be blaming US President George W Bush for terrorism. "This is a very deep-rooted problem right round the world...if we don't fight it it's going to come after us," said Blair. He rejected the notion that terrorism in Iraq could have been fuelled by the US-led invasion, saying that "outside terrorists linking up with internal extremists" were responsible. "It's difficult because you have external elements - al-Qaeda up near Baghdad, and Iranian-backed elements down in Basra - who are deliberately creating the problem," he said. However, Blair also conceded that, on account of the Iraq war, he might have become an "issue" with regard to the Labour Party's chances in local and regional elections in Britain next week. "Look, you're always an issue when you're the Prime Minister," he said, as polls predict a battering for Labour, not least over the Iraq war. Blair is set to mark his 10th anniversary in power early next month, and is widely expected to announce a date for his much-heralded departure from office soon afterwards. An opinion poll published Tuesday in the Independent newspaper showed that support for Labour has dropped to its lowest level since 1983. According to the poll by Communicate Research, Labour has the support of 27 per cent of the electorate, down four points on a survey by the same institute a month ago. It is the lowest poll rating for the Labour Party since 1983, when the party won 27 per cent of the vote at a general election under the leadership of Michael Foot. dpa at ds
