Blair reiterates British commitment in Afghanistan

By KABUL, AFGHANISTAN
British Prime Minister Tony Blair pledged his nation's commitment in Afghanistan "for as long as it takes," telling British soldiers fighting the resurgent Taliban that success would help establish global security. Blair said Monday at a joint news conference with Afghan President Hamid Karzai at the presidential palace in Kabul that British and NATO forces would likely remain in Afghanistan for years to come to prevent the Taliban's return to power. "We came to Afghanistan because the sickness and the evil that was here came to us," Blair said, referring to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States. "I don't believe there is an alternative but to fight this and to fight it for as long as it takes." "Here in this extraordinary desert is where the future of world security in the early 21st century is going to be played out," Blair said.