Hearts, minds neglected on terrorism - UK's Brown
Source: Reuters
By Katherine Baldwin LONDON, Jan 13 (Reuters) - British finance minister Gordon Brown, expected to succeed Tony Blair as premier this year, said on Saturday he believed the battle for hearts and minds had been neglected in the fight against terrorism. "If you take security, which is a huge issue now, I actually think what's been undervalued is the importance of winning hearts and minds," Brown said. "You will not solve the security issues we face, particularly in relation to terrorism, simply by military, policing, intelligence and security action, important as these are," he told a meeting of the Fabian Society, a left-leaning think-tank. Brown -- increasingly looking like a certainty to fulfil his long ambition to take over from Blair -- has been setting out his stall and called again for a new style of politics. Political analysts say he is seeking to distance himself from some of Blair's more unpopular policies. Blair's support for the U.S.-led Iraq war depleted his popularity ratings and eroded support for the Labour Party, in power since 1997. Brown -- who kept a low public profile over the Iraq war -- will be keen to draw a line under what analysts agree was the most damaging decision of Blair's leadership. Resolving the security situation in Iraq and withdrawing British troops, however, is expected to remain a headache for Brown's premiership, which could start in June. Brown also said that Africa was a frontline in the fight against terrorism and that bringing Africans out of poverty would be a top priority for his leadership. "Africa is a strategic as well as moral issue for us," he said. Africa had more al Qaeda cells than any part of the world, was a major issue in terms of immigration and was at the centre of the climate change agenda. Brown called Africa "a stain on the soul of the world", echoing a similar phrase used by Blair who called the continent a scar on the world's conscience, and said bringing education to all children in Africa and the rest of the world was essential. Brown also stressed the need for personal and social responsibility in the fight against global warming. Blair this week was criticised by environmentalists when he said he would not curtail his personal travel to holiday destinations like Barbados and Florida to save the planet. His office later announced that he was planning to "offset" his personal travel -- invest in environmental projects to the value of the carbon emissions produced by his flights. "We cannot win the environmental issue unless there is personal and social responsibility," Brown said.
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