Blair: World must back Iraq polls
UK prime minister makes surprise Baghdad visit
 |  Blair, left, shakes hands with Allawi on his arrival in Baghdad. |
| |
|  VIDEO |
 Blair says the fighting in Iraq is a battle between democracy and terror. (December 21)
|
|
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- In his first trip to Baghdad, British Prime Minister Tony Blair has pleaded with world leaders to come together in support of Iraq's upcoming elections, saying there is a clear choice "between democracy and terror."
Blair's surprise visit to the Iraqi capital on Tuesday came amid continuing daily violence and two days after a series of deadly attacks claimed more than 70 lives -- including an election worker.
Hours after Blair left at least 22 people were killed and 51 wounded as multiple rounds hit a dining hall at a U.S. military base near Mosul, Pentagon officials said. (Full story)
Those killed in Tuesday's attack include U.S. troops, members of the Iraqi national guard, and Iraqi civilians, officials add.
U.S. and Iraqi authorities have long predicted violence would spike as the January 30 elections approach, saying insurgents want to prevent the development of a democratic government.
Blair said he met with members of the election commission -- and he called them "heroes" who are "risking their lives every day in order to make sure that the people of Iraq get a chance to decide their own destiny."
Standing beside interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi at a news conference, Blair -- President George W. Bush's chief ally in launching the war in Iraq two years ago -- acknowledged the dangers and the fact that much of the world opposed the original invasion.
"Whatever people's feelings or beliefs about the removal of Saddam Hussein and the the wisdom of that, there surely is only one side to be on in what is now very clearly a battle between democracy and terror," he said.
"On the one side you have people who desperately want to make the democratic process work and have the same democratic freedoms other parts of the world enjoy. And on the other side people who are killing and intimidating and trying to destroy a better future for Iraq."
Seventy-four British troops have died since the Iraq war began, according to the British Ministry of Defense. Blair has previously visited his nation's troops in southern Iraq.
His visit to Baghdad was not previously announced to protect his security. Previous visits to Iraq by other top British and U.S. officials, including President Bush, were also not announced in advance.
An impassioned speaker, Blair argued Tuesday that the entire world has a stake in the success of Iraq's elections.
Terrorists are engaged in "a wicked, destructive attempt" to derail the elections and prevent democracy, he said.
"And where should the rest of the world stand? To say 'That's your problem, go and look after it' or 'You're better off having Saddam running the country?' As if the only choice they should have in the world is a choice between a brutal dictator killing hundreds of thousands of people or terrorists and insurgents.
"There is another choice for Iraq -- the choice is democracy. The choice is freedom. And our job is to help them get there because that's what they want."
Allawi said Iraqi efforts to improve security and combat the insurgency are improving. "What you see now shall disappear in the very near future," he vowed.
He said the majority of Iraqis want to see the development of democracy, freedom, the rule of law and respect for human rights. "These are the important values that have been brought into Iraq, and for the first time the Iraqis feel the sense of liberty. It is a dream which is coming true."
Blair has faced trouble at home, as the vast majority of his nation opposed the Iraq war. At a news conference with Bush last month, a British reporter asked Blair whether about criticism that he is like a "poodle" for the Bush administration -- an analogy both he and Bush flatly rejected.
He used Tuesday's news conference to send a message to his countrymen.
"If Iraq becomes a stable, democratic country and we defeat the terrorism here -- which is the same type of terrorism that we face the world over -- if we defeat it here, we deal it a blow worldwide. If Iraq is a stable and democratic country, that is good for the Middle East. And what is good for the Middle East is actually good for the world, including Britain."
Copyright 2004 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Associated Press contributed to this report.
