Blair moves to war footing

Blair will give details of looming military action

		By Nick Assinder BBC News Online political correspondent

Tony Blair is to signal the start of all-out war against the Taleban in one of the most sombre and important party conference speeches ever made by a prime minister.

In his keynote address to the Labour rally on Tuesday he will say the Afghan regime has run out of time and must now pay the price for harbouring Osama Bin Laden.

And he will make it crystal clear that military action against Kabul is now imminent and will be devastating.

He will tell delegates in Brighton - and the country as a whole - that there is no more time for negotiation.

The prime minister will say that the Taleban were given the chance to hand over prime suspect Bin Laden and have refused to do so. And they will now face the consequences.

He will insist that the looming military response will be proportionate and targeted.

He will declare that everything humanly possible will be done to avoid civilian casualties.

Eliminate hardware

In his first detailed comments on exactly what form the action will take, he will say that Bin Laden's military installations and training camps and the Taleban troops, their supplies and finances will all be targeted.

And, in his most hawkish words yet, he will declare that the attacks will eliminate their hardware, disrupt their supplies and target their troops.

The prime minister will acknowledge that many people will feel anxious about the possible consequences of military action.

But he will warn that the dangers of inaction are worse than the dangers of action

British troops are bound to be involved in the strikes, which many now expect within days, if not hours.

Mr Blair wrote the first draft of the speech in Downing Street one evening last week.

Aides said its tone reflects his life-long political belief in the power of community.

Memorial to victims

And he will claim that the only good that may come out of the evil of New York and Washington is that it has brought the world closer together.

The lasting good emerging from the shadow of this evil must be a memorial to the victims of the act, the prime minister is set to declare.

He will say that it has brought home the interdependence of the world which the global community must turn into a force for good.

His words will come towards the end of a foreshortened conference that has inevitably been overshadowed by the international crisis.

Party bosses have been more eager than ever to avoid controversy over issues such as the public services, internal party reforms and the prime minister's backing for US action.