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Blair bali attack Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
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Blair condemns extremists behind Bali attack as the epitome of evil
Mon Oct 14,12:44 PM ET
By THOMAS WAGNER, Associated Press Writer
LONDON - Prime Minister Tony Blair (news - web sites) on Monday blamed the deadly car bombing in Bali on extremist groups "whose evil knows no limits," and said the U.S.-led war on terrorism must deal with them before more innocent lives are lost.
Blair said the weekend attack on a nightclub on the resort island of Indonesia, which killed more than 180 people, including as many as 33 Britons, showed "the appalling depths to which these extremists will sink."
"It is important that at every single level ... we do everything we possibly can to bear down on these people and eradicate this evil in our world," he said outside his office at 10 Downing St. "And it is difficult because, as the events in Bali showed, they will strike anywhere, any time, at any place, and they really do not care how many innocent people they kill."
In Indonesia, where Bali is located, Defense Minister Matori Abdul Djalil blamed al-Qaida and its extremist allies for the bombing of the nightclub.
In London, Blair's government has advised Britons not to travel to Bali and only to undertake essential travel to the rest of Indonesia.
The prime minister said he had sent a message of condolence to President Megawati Sukarnoputri of Indonesia and offered any help she needs.
Earlier, Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said four anti-terrorist officers from Scotland Yard would soon arrive in Jakarta, the Indonesian capital, to help with the investigation of the weekend attack.
Straw was traveling to Washington later Monday for talks with U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell (news - web sites). Straw said the war against terrorism would top the agenda.
"As these events have shown, it is going to be difficult when we are dealing with these extremist groups whose activities know no frontiers and whose evil knows no limits," Blair said. He said the world must "make sure that these groups are dealt with and dealt with properly before many more innocent lives are lost."
Blair said, "Global terrorism, extremism and fundamentalism know no boundaries. They have no respect for human life or democratic values, whether in the United States or in a Muslim country such as Indonesia."
Blair said Britain would continue to play a key role in the war against terrorism "to protect the civilized values we hold dear."
The British ambassador to Indonesia, Richard Gozney, said Monday that the attack in Bali did not come "completely out of the blue."
"We have been worried about the level of terrorist threat to foreigners in the last few months in this country," he told British Broadcasting Corp. radio.
"There has been a long-standing threat for a year or two from some groups who are definitely linked to al-Qaida and were led by foreigners.
"That had faded ... but we have been more worried about regional groups, who have been beginning to threaten action of this sort."
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