End of the road for Blair?

The death of British weapons expert David Kelly continues to reverberate in the Middle East press, with some Arabic commentators suggesting it could be the end of the road for UK Prime Minister Tony Blair.

The role of the BBC in the case also generates widespread comment, with the Israeli press split over its behaviour.

David Kelly has become a new victim of the war against Iraq, after he opposed the position of Tony Blair regarding Baghdad's weapons. Why did this scientist commit suicide, if he committed it at all? Who has any interest in the death of this famous scientist? These are some of questions which are tormenting Tony Blair's government, and which might also bring him down... This will be the end of Tony Blair or it will be the extremity of his abjectness... Voices from every corner of Britain urge Tony Blair, the liar, to resign.

Al-Akhbar - Egypt

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If the British scientist David Kelly had been found dead in the Third World, the concerned regime would have been immediately accused of being behind his death... David Kelly has gone, along with many questions, some simple, others as big as the globe.

Oman - Oman

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The death or the suicide of weapons expert David Kelly only reinforces the difficulties confronting the British Government because it has bowed to America's will. This places Prime Minister Tony Blair in an unprecedented political crisis... The BBC disclosure that Kelly was the source of its report has worsened the crisis for Blair.

Al-Watan - Saudi Arabia

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The man the BBC admitted was the one who said Blair's government had exaggerated the danger from Iraq to justify the war against it, aimed his attacks not only at 10 Downing Street but also the White House. If Bush and Blair went to war together, they will also fall together.

Al-Watan - Qatar

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God bless your soul David Kelly! Mr Khatami [the Iranian president] should have ordered an investigation into your death instead of into that of Zahra Kazemi [Canadian photographer who died while in detention]. In that case, the investigation would have perhaps got somewhere. The investigation into the death of Zahra Kazemi cannot get anywhere, whereas the investigation into the death of David Kelly will.

Aftab-e Yazd - Iran

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You good and wise people who are ever-present on the world stage should know that the death of David Kelly is an important event. It should be investigated until the criminal Tony Blair has been executed and global imperialism with its world-devouring leader, America, has been disgraced.

Commentator in Aftab-e Yazd

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The public now knows that Dr David Kelly was the BBC's main source of information on Iraqi weapons of mass destruction. The political sandstorm in the United Kingdom has now turned into a political tornado inside Prime Minister Tony Blair's governing Labour Party. What is it all about? A power struggle between the two political factions or concern for the Iraqi people?

Qods - Iran

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By virtue of the decision to leak [information] or come out blatantly against an employer, the leaker is signalling an unusual state of mind that takes upon himself responsibility and exceptional risks... This is precisely the reason why one should not dance at the admission by the BBC heads of the identity of the leaker, the late Kelly. Now, with all the sorrow for his death, they are doing what is necessary to protect their good name, and post-factum, the reputation of the deceased.

Ma'ariv - Israel

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It is unlikely that BBC culpability for actually inciting Palestinian violence can ever be accurately quantified. But for the wife and children of David Kelly, the consequences of the BBC's reporting can be tragically and precisely measured.

Jerusalem Post - Israel

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BBC Monitoring, based in Caversham in southern England, selects and translates information from radio, television, press, news agencies and the Internet from 150 countries in more than 70 languages.