Blair summons resolve reminiscent of WWII

LONDON – For Prime Minister Tony Blair, the high of winning the 2012 Olympics was followed by the devastating low of deadly bombings in the heart of London. He rose to the occasion Thursday, delivering an almost Churchillian appeal for unity and vowing steadfastly to defeat terror and root out the perpetrators.

In a solemn rallying cry to the nation, Blair said it was “a very sad day for the British people, but we will hold true to the British way of life.”

While those who committed the explosions “act in the name of Islam,” he stressed that “we also know that the vast and overwhelming majority of Muslims here and abroad are decent and law-abiding people” who also abhor terror.

Blair was hosting a summit of G-8 leaders in Scotland when the attacks struck. He rushed back to London, and after meeting with ministers and officials, delivered a televised address from 10 Downing Street.

Blair, dressed in a black suit, said the perpetrators of the attacks were using terrorism to express their values and “it is right at this moment that we demonstrate ours.”

“I think we all know what they are trying to do – they are trying to use the slaughter of innocent people to cower us, to frighten us out of doing the things that we want to do, of trying to stop us going about our business as normal, as we are entitled to do, and they should not, and they must not, succeed,” Blair said.

In his address, Blair harkened back to the “Blitz spirit” that saw Londoners through the dark days of Nazi bombing during World War II – and, by association, to Winston Churchill, the wartime leader whose determined, moving speeches helped steel the national resolve.

“There will of course now be the most intense police and security service action to make sure that we bring those responsible to justice,” Blair said. “I would also pay tribute to the stoicism and resilience of the people of London who have responded in a way typical of them.”

He said Britain would show “by our spirit and dignity” that “our values will long outlast” the terrorists’.

“The purpose of terrorism is just that. It is to terrorize people, and we will not be terrorized.”