Removing Saddam an uphill task, says Blair

Removing Saddam from power will be "tough and difficult," said Prime Minister Tony Blair in an interview to BBC radio.

Removing Saddam Hussein from power will be "tough and difficult," Prime Minister Tony Blair said in an interview broadcast on Friday.

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Speaking after wartime talks with US President George W Bush, Blair said it would take time to "prise the grip of Saddam off the country when it's been there for over 20 years.

"When you've had a whole series of security services repressing the local people, it was never going to be a situation these people were simply going to give up power and go away," Blair told British Broadcasting Corp radio.