A rchive Date
[ 28-08-2002 ]
Category
[ International Relations ]
sub-Categoy
[ Britain ]
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[http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,781833,00.html
Blair returns to face Iraq question
Staff and agencies
Wednesday August 28, 2002
Tony Blair comes back from holiday tonight to face growing domestic and international unease over the possibility of war with Iraq.
The prime minister and the US president, George Bush, are "100% agreed" on the need to deal with Iraqi weapons of mass destruction, Downing Street insisted this morning.
But speaking ahead of his return, a spokesman made it clear the prime minister believes Saddam Hussein could "resolve this issue" by readmitting UN weapons inspectors.
US figures have insisted that move would not be enough to avoid the need to remove the Iraqi dictator.
At home, a majority of voters are against military action, with strong opposition among Labour supporters, according to a Guardian poll published today.
Abroad, Saudi Arabia issued a fresh warning to the US despite Mr Bush's latest attempts to convince America's traditional ally. And a senior Washington figure said one of Mr Blair's advisers complained that Mr Bush was giving nothing back to Britain in return for support.
Mr Blair's official spokesman played down differences between Britain and the US.
"We are 100% agreed with the US that you have to deal with the issue of weapons of mass destruction. You cannot put your head in the sand on that issue," he said.
"Equally, there is a route for Saddam to resolve the issue by giving unfettered access to UN inspectors and for him to comply with UN resolutions."
The spokesman added: "Equally, you have to note the history which is that Saddam has not complied with UN weapons inspections and you do have to think through what happens if he continues with that policy."
This morning the former Foreign Office minister Tony Lloyd warned the rhetoric of US administration "hawks" was making it difficult to avoid conflict.
"The really worrying thing ... is that the more the hawks in the administration talk up military action the more difficult, frankly, it will be for the American president to get off the war machine," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
It was "almost inevitable" that the issue of Iraq would be taken up at this autumn's Labour party conference, he said.
"We've had so little certainty from Washington and, frankly, from the British government.
"I think throughout the country people now will want answers, particularly if this intense rhetoric from Washington continues."
His warning came after the US defence secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, last night compared the White House's policy of seeking the removal of the Iraqi leader with Winston Churchill's warnings about Adolf Hitler before the second world war.
A majority of voters - 52% - now say Britain should not support US policy on Iraq, the Guardian's survey found.
Opposition to military action has grown from 46% in March, while support for an attack among Labour supporters fell from 43% to 35%.
Among all voters, 50%, are opposed to military action to remove Saddam Hussein's regime, with just 33% in favour.
Those concerns are shared by Downing Street, according to Richard Holbrooke, the former US ambassador to the UN.
Writing in the Washington Post, Mr Holbrooke said: "Last month, a senior adviser to Tony Blair told me bitterly that Washington 'was giving Blair nothing' in return for Blair's unstinting support, even as British domestic opposition to Blair's pro-American position was growing."
Downing Street declined to comment on the report.
 World Fact Book (CIA)]
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