British Prime Minister Tony Blair on Monday urged Europe and the United States to heal their rift over the war in Iraq and work together to combat global terrorism and promote peace in the Middle East. In a keynote foreign policy speech released in advance, Blair urges European leaders to work closely with U.S. President George W. Bush to spread democracy and political and human rights. But he cautions Washington against pursuing a go-it-alone foreign policy or thinking that terrorism can be defeated by military might alone. «The only stable Afghanistan will be a democratic Afghanistan. Ultimately, it is democracy in Iraq that will defeat the insurgents,» he will say. «The only viable Palestinian state will not just be based on territory but on democratic values.» In Washington on Friday, Blair and Bush pledged to mobilize international support for securing peace in the Middle East, and helping the Palestinian Authority build a solid economic infrastructure, civil administration and security apparatus.
