Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair has challenged Joe Biden not to lose confidence in the use of force to defend and export liberal democratic values and warned of potential Islamic bioterrorism in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a speech at the RUSI thinktank marking the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, Blair warned that "bio-terror possibilities may seem like the realm of science fiction, but we would be wise now to prepare for their potential use by non-state actors."
Blair warned of the dangers of western societies losing faith in their own values, stating that "the pressure of short-term political imperatives is giving both allies and opponents of liberal open societies the belief that ‘our time is over" and that he is troubled by the notion "that we are foolish in believing that western notions of liberal democracy and freedom are exportable or will ever take root except in the somewhat decadent terrain of western society."