Blair urges caution after good start to campaign

Tony Blair said today that the military campaign against Saddam Hussein appeared to have started well, but he cautioned against expectations of immediate victory.

"Our forces will face resistance and the campaign, necessarily, will not achieve all its objectives overnight," the Prime Minister told a news conference at the European Union summi in Brussels.

Despite the loss of eight British troops in a helicopter accident, he said Britain's military campaign "appears to be going well."

Mr Blair said British forces had already taken the Al–Faw peninsula in southern Iraq, which is the site of important Iraqi oil installations. "Our forces have been involved in securing oil installations to prevent the threat of deliberate ecological disaster."

"This evening, as last night, all three of our services will be involved as the military action continues," Mr Blair added.

"There are signs of continuing Iraqi desertions and disagreement and division in all levels of the regime."

He paid tribute to the eight British commandos who died when their U.S. helicopter crashed overnight.

"These were brave men who in order to make us safer and more secure, knew the risks, faced the risks and had the courage to serve their country and the wider world," Blair said.

"We owe them an enormous debt of gratitude and our thoughts and prayers are with their families."

Mr Blair said French President Jacques Chirac joined other EU leaders in presenting condolences over the soldiers' deaths.

Mr Blair's remarks were in marked contrast to a statement by Group Captain Al Lockwood, the chief British spokesman at the allied command centre in Qatar, who said allied troops could enter the Iraqi capital swiftly.

"If I was a betting man, and I'm not, I would say hopefully within the next three or four days," he said.

However, another British spokesman, Major William Mackinley, stressed that Mr Lockwood was only speculating when he mentioned the timeframe.