Outgoing British Prime Minister Tony Blair said he witnessed signs of progress during a visit to war-torn Iraq Saturday, UPI reported. Blair's visit was marked by explosions in the heavily fortified Green Zone but the chaos left him unfazed, CNN reported. Speaking after the explosions, Blair acknowledged that attacks happen daily in Iraq, but said he saw "real signs of change and progress." "The question is what are we going to do in the face of these attacks?" he asked. "The answer is we don't give in to them." Blair's office did not say what signs of progress Blair witnessed or whether he was at the British Embassy compound when the blasts went off. No one was killed. One person was wounded. Blair met with his Iraqi counterpart, Shiite Muslim Nouri al-Maliki, and Kurdish President Jalal Talabani and said the three agreed to the importance of a "national compact" that would unite the fractious government and be "adhered to by the neighboring countries," said a statement from Blair's office. Blair, who has been British prime minister since 1997, steps down on June 27.
