BLAIR'S NUKE WARNING PM sends in 200 Marines By Paul Gilfeather, Whitehall Editor OSAMA bin Laden must be stopped before he launches a nuclear strike, Tony Blair warned yesterday.

The Premier spoke as 200 Marine Commandos were put on stand-by for action in Afghanistan and Britain's Chief of the Defence Staff said the war on terrorism could last 50 years.

Speaking on British Forces radio, Mr Blair said: "If these terrorists are allowed to carry on building up their network - possibly acquiring chemical, biological or even nuclear weapons of mass destruction - our world will be an unsafe place.

"There will be no corner, particularly not a place like Britain, that will be untouched by that.

"We have to close the network down. If we don't, there is no doubt it will commit even worse outrages."

The Marines - from 40 Commando - will form part of a powerful force of 4,200 servicemen and women, Armed Forces minister Adam Ingram said yesterday.

They will stay on alert in the Gulf aboard the assault ship HMS Fearless when other troops return from exercises in Oman.

Another 400 Marines will remain in Britain in "high readiness". The aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious, a submarine with Tomahawk missiles, the destroyer HMS Southampton and frigate HMS Cornwall will also remain in the Gulf region.

They will be backed by seven auxiliary ships and four Nimrod patrol and Hercules transport planes.

Three submarines and 10 refuelling planes have already been committed.

The Marines' commander, Brigadier Roger Lane, said they were viewing action with "anticipation and apprehension". But they may not be called on for weeks.

They could provide "force protection" for SAS units sent into the country on search-and-destroy missions.

http://mirror.icnetwork.co.uk/news/allnews/page.cfm?objectid=11390823&method=full

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), October 28, 2001

Answers

"Speaking on British Forces radio, Mr Blair said: "If these terrorists are allowed to carry on building up their network - possibly acquiring chemical, biological or even nuclear weapons of mass destruction - our world will be an unsafe place. "

Ooops. Our world is already an unsafe place. Thanks in part to the U.S. and Russia, among others, acquiring just such weapons in the past.

-- neil (nmruggles@earthlink.net), October 29, 2001.