Tony Blair: Radicalized Islam a Growing Threat

Former British leader Tony Blair says the West should set aside its differences with Russia and China to focus on the growing threat from radical Islam.

Blair says tackling "a radicalized and politicized view of Islam" should be at the top of the global political agenda.

He says many in the West seemed "curiously resistant" to face up to a force that "is undermining the possibility of peaceful co-existence in an era of globalization."

Blair, who was Britain's prime minister between 1997 and 2007, is Middle East envoy for the Quartet. He said the West "should be prepared to reach out and co-operate with the East, and in particular Russia and China," to combat Islamic extremism.

He made the remarks in a speech in London on Wednesday.