Summary

Tony Blair begins his speech on terror by arguing that not facing the threat of terrorism is dangerous and that the London bombings were not random but carefully planned.

Calling terrorism an evil ideology, the speaker argues that it has nothing to do with the civilised world. He reminds the audience that Al-Qaeda has been organising terrorist attacks for the past 12 years in 26 countries, killing numerous people. He lists the main terrorist demands, namely eliminating Israel and all Western influences in the Muslim world, along with the creation of a caliphate organised according to Sharia law.

He gives the example of Afghanistan under Taliban rule, when women were discriminated against, and people were oppressed in the name of religious faith. He calls terrorism a religious ideology and compares its violence with historical...