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Blair admits `deep divisions'

By Hasan Suroor

LONDON MARCH 21. At the end of the first day of the war, denounced here by critics as a "day of shame'' for Britain, with eight British troops already killed, the Prime Minister, Tony Blair, admitted that the country was deeply divided over his decision to support the U.S. invasion of Iraq but insisted that "removing Saddam will be a blessing for the Iraqi people''.

His remarks, in a TV broadcast to the nation, came as thousands of Britons took to the streets in anti-war protests amid heightened fears for the safety of British troops following casualties on the very first day of the campaign. As fears grew that extremists could try to arouse passions by portraying it as a war on Islam, prominent Christian and Muslim religious appealed for tolerance and said now that the conflict had started, "there is an even greater responsibility for Christians and Muslims to maintain bonds of harmony.'' Jolted by British casualties so early in the campaign, Ministers abandoned the pretence that it was going to be a swift, surgical operation. The Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw, said the death of eight British and four American soldiers was an "illustration of the risks'' ahead and he had no comfort to offer to those calling for a quick end to the war. ``We all hope and pray that the campaign will be over quickly but you can never tell, so we do also have to have greater patience,'' he said.

In his broadcast, Mr. Blair said it was time to bury the differences and get on with the job.

"I know this course of action has produced deep divisions of opinion in our country. But I also know the British people will now be united in sending our armed forces our thoughts and prayers''. ``I hope the Iraqi people hear this message. We are with you. Our enemy is not you but your barbarous rulers. Our commitment to the post-Saddam humanitarian effort will be total''.

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