British Prime Minister Tony Blair dramatically raised the alarm Monday over terror attacks in Britain, saying he was bombarded almost daily with new intelligence about threats to national interests. Urging Britons to be on their guard at all times, Blair also used his major foreign policy speech of the year to call on Washington to see the big picture -- without a lasting accord between Israelis and Palestinians, groups like al Qaeda would forever have a reason to justify their outrages, he said.

Ratcheting up his rhetoric, Blair said the Sept. 11 attacks, Bali bomb blast and Moscow theater siege showed "today's breed of terrorist knows no bounds."

But while calling for vigilance, he refused to hand victory to militants by bringing the country grinding to a halt.

"If on the basis of a general warning we were to shut down all the places al Qaeda might be considering for attack, we would be doing their job for them," he said. "It is a war I have total confidence we will win but it will not be without pain." Officials say Britain could be a target because of its strong support for U.S. action against Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda group, blamed for the Sept. 11 attacks.

A Blair aide denied any specific warning had been received but the government has called for particular public vigilance in the run up to Christmas.

Last week, the British government released then quickly withdrew a document which warned militants might try to develop a nuclear "dirty bomb" or poison gas and could use boats or trains in the next attack, rather than planes as they did on Sept.
11.

MIDDLE EAST KEY

Blair said the United States and Britain were right to tackle weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and "terrorism," which he said were linked, but said that alone was not enough.

"Would al Qaeda buy WMD (weapons of mass destruction) if it could? Certainly. Do they have the financial resources? Probably. Would they use them? Definitely," he said.

"But above all we need to understand the passion and anger the state of Middle East peace process arouses."

Washington has been itching to tackle Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein but has made little headway in refloating Middle East peace talks despite Arab warnings that to attack Baghdad without first tackling Israeli-Palestinian strife would cause even greater anti-Western militancy across the Islamic world.

"The answer is to move the process forward and to do it quickly," Blair said. "Until this happens, this issue hangs like a dark shadow over our world ... providing the cover under which the fanatics build strength.

Blair has called for a resumption of full Middle East peace talks through an internationally-mediated conference before the year-end. One official said the premier was "impatient" with the lack of progress but acknowledged Israeli elections on Jan. 28 could be an obstacle to short-term progress.

PHOTO CAPTION

Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blair speaks during the Lord Mayor's Banquet at the Guildhall in London November 11, 2002. (Stephen Hird/Reuters