THE PRIME MINISTER

Prime Minister Blair Pledges Solidarity

THE PRESIDENT: It’s my honor to welcome my friend, and friend to America, Prime Minister Tony Blair to the White House. I appreciate him coming to America in our time of need. One of the first phone calls I got after that terrible day was from the Prime Minister. He was reassuring to me. He was—he showed to be a true friend, and I appreciate that.
I’m so honored you’re here. And I look forward to giving a speech tonight. The Prime Minister has kindly agreed to come and listen to it. So I’m not going to answer any questions tonight. I’m going to let my speech be exactly what I want to say.
In the meantime, the Prime Minister has

agreed to say a few comments, and then take a couple of questions from you.
PRIME MINISTER BLAIR: Thank you, Mr. President. It’s my honor to be here, and also to pay tribute to your leadership at this immensely difficult time. I was in New York earlier today, and it’s perhaps only when you are actually there that the full enormity and horror of what happened comes home to you.
And I said then, I would like to repeat, that my father’s generation went through the experience of the Second World War, when Britain was under attack, during the days of the Blitz. And there was one nation and one people that, above all, stood side by side with us at that time. And that nation was America,

and those people were the American people. And I say to you, we stand side by side with you now, without hesitation.
This is a struggle that concerns us all, the whole of the democratic and civilized and free world. And we have to do two things very clearly; we have to bring to account those responsible, and then we have to set about at every single level, in every way that we can, dismantling the apparatus of terror, and eradicating the evil of mass terrorism in our world.
And I know that America, Britain, and all our allies will stand united together in that task. And I give you, on behalf of our country, our solidarity, our sympathy, and our support.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair (left) and Mayor Giuliani (right) applaud with First Lady Laura Bush on September 20, as President Bush addresses a joint session of the U.S. Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. Bush called the joint session to explain his position on the U.S. reaction to the terrorist strikes on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.