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GUESTS: Osama Saeed, Spokesperson for the British Muslim Association, Rose Gentle, mother of Gordon Gentle who was killed at age 19 in Basra, Iraq

British Prime Minister Tony Blair, after nearly a decade in office, has announced that he plans to step down within the next 12 months. Blair is President Bush’s closest foreign ally. Pressure from his own Labor party has been mounting on Blair all week. Eight junior officials quit yesterday insisting on his resignation. The current treasury chief Gordon Brown is likely to be the next prime minister. Brown and his supporters have been battling with Blair and his supporters for an earlier timetable for resignation. The pressure for Blair to leave has been fueled by widespread anger at his handling of the recent fighting in the Middle East and anxiety over the Labor Party’s slide in the polls. Blair has also faced strong opposition within his party because of his steadfast support for Bush in the Iraq war. Meanwhile, an opinion poll published today revealed that a majority of Britons believe Tony Blair’s foreign policy has increased the risk of terrorism and want the country to distance itself from the US and set a timetable for troop withdrawal from Iraq. The poll was done this past weekend as news came of the death of 14 British servicemen on board a crashed Nimrod aircraft in Afghanistan.

For more information, visit www.stopwar.org.uk.