KING:
Mr Prime Minister, we understand the President of the United States called you today. What did he say?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well he rang me to talk about what had been announced, that was the capture of Saddam Hussein. We shared a satisfaction, a very deep satisfaction, and a common belief that this would be very good for the people of Iraq. He talked a little about the events that led up to it, the success of American intelligence. I congratulated the American military on its achievement. The American military of course is carrying the main burden in Iraq, and for their sakes in particular I think this is a wonderful development and it will give the boys and girls of the US Defence Force a great Christmas present to feel that the person who has been the chief tormentor of the Iraqi people for so long, for more than 35 years, has now finally been arrested and is going to face justice.
KING:
And should that justice be by Iraqi trial or international tribunal in your opinion?
PRIME MINISTER:
I would support a trial by Iraq in Iraq. Although Saddam Hussein committed many crimes against others, he conservatively has probably murdered about a half a million of his own fellow countrymen and women, perhaps more. He has tortured hundreds of thousands of others, he';s starved many. His main crimes have been committed against the people of Iraq and it only seems fair and reasonable to me that they have the opportunity of trying him according to their laws. I hope that the trial, if it takes place, will allow enough time and be public enough for all of the crimes he has committed to be detailed so that the world will know the full measure of what sort of person he was, why he had to be got rid of, and the world will never forget the crimes that he and his henchmen inflicted upon the Iraqis and upon many millions of other innocent people in the Middle East.
KING:
You still have troops there. Are you concerned that there might be short-term a little increase in the violence?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well Larry that';s very hard to know. It might happen. I certainly continue to worry about the safety of our troops and indeed about the safety of all the allied troops. The likelihood in the medium to longer term is that with Hussein gone, the violence might begin to subside, but that won';t happen immediately and it would be foolish indeed for people to imagine that just because Saddam Hussein has been caught, then the violence is going to end. So it continues to be a very risky place and I continue to be apprehensive of course about the safety of our own men and women, and also about the safety of Americans and British and other allied forces who are there in their very large numbers.
KING:
How long do you think your troops will stay?
PRIME MINISTER:
Too early to say, Larry. They will stay while they have a job to do. We';re not going to prematurely pull them out. We made a contribution, a very important contribution, during the military conflict and we said we';d maintain a reasonable number there after – not a huge number because we have peacekeeping obligations in our part of the world – but we don';t intend to pull those troops out until they have done their job. They';re doing a fantastic job at present and they will stay there for so long as is necessary to achieve the objectives of stabilising Iraq and providing Iraq with a hopeful democratic future.
KING:
Are you glad he was taken alive?
PRIME MINISTER:
I am glad he was taken alive because it will allow the opportunity of a trial. It will allow an opportunity for the world to be reminded if necessary in painstaking detail of the kind of person he was and why his removal is such a long term boon for that country. Sometimes people of this nature die in the capture attempt, sometimes they take their own lives and thus avoid that public exposure and public demonstration and reinforcement of everything that they have done to their people. And I believe overwhelmingly to the good that he was taken alive and I certainly look forward to a public trial in Baghdad where the full measure of what he did to the Iraqi people is spelt out in graphic detail.
KING:
Do you think this is the chance now to internationalise this occupation more?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well that really depends on the willingness of other countries. I, of course, share the disappointment of President Bush and Tony Blair and others that many of the countries in Europe, apart from the United Kingdom and Poland, and Spain, and a few others have been unwilling to contribute more resources and more people. The offer is there, the expression of hope is there and in a way the internationalisation of this lies in the hands of those who thus far have been unwilling to participate. The obligation of internationalisation lies on those who don';t participate rather than those who do participate because by their participation they';re indicating a willingness to share the burden.
KING:
Mr Prime Minister, always good to see you. Thank you for sharing some time with us.
PRIME MINISTER:
Thank you very much, Larry.
[ends]