Tony Blair spoke at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. today regarding ISIS and British authorization of air strikes in Syria.
Blair urged that the effort to topple ISIS must come from a combined effort focused on a growing terror threat from inside Europe. He warned that supporters and sympathizers for the Islamic State run “deep into parts of Muslim societies.”
“The ideology has deep roots. We hove to reach right the way down and uproot it.”
“Clerics who proclaim that non-believers and apostates must be killed or call for jihad against Jews have Twitter followings running into the millions,” Blair said.
Blair said that educating immigrants coming into Britain about British values and ways of life is one of the most important steps.
One of the main players in the initial phases of the War on Terror, Blair was Prime Minister of Britain from 1997-2007.
Blair is known for having strongly supported President George W. Bush during the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001. He later receives flack from Parliament as British casualty numbers began to rise.
Britain launched attacks against ISIS almost immediately after Parliament voted in favor of the strikes.