TRIMDON, England, MAY 10, SPA -- Prime Minister Tony Blair saidThursday that he will step down as prime minister on June27, after a decade in office in which he fostered peace inNorthern Ireland and followed the United States to war inAfghanistan and Iraq, REPORTED AP. Surveying his time in power, Blair told supporters: «Handon heart, I did what I thought was right.» Following the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in theUnited States, it was right, Blair said, to «standshoulder to shoulder with our oldest ally, and I did so outof belief. And so Afghanistan, and then Iraq _ the latterbitterly controversial. «And removing Saddam and his sons from power, as withremoving the Taliban, was over with relative ease. But theblowback since, with global terrorism and those elementsthat support it, has been fierce and unrelenting andcostly. And for many it simply isn't and can't be worth it. For me, I think we must see it through.» In a short, almost apologetic speech, Blair added: «I may have been wrong. That's your call. But believe onething if nothing else, I did what I thought was right formy country.» He ended with a simple, soft-spoken «good luck.» --SPA www.spa.gov.sa/448479