Blair given 'devastating' warning on attack
Michael White, political editor
Tuesday July 30, 2002
The Guardian
King Abdullah of Jordan yesterday warned Tony Blair that US-led military action to remove Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq "would have devastating effects" on the Middle East.
As the leader of one of the region's key moderate states expressed his concern, Labour anxieties that an attack on Iraq may be launched without the legal protection of a fresh UN mandate also increased despite repeated official insistence that "no decision has been taken".
During 30 minutes of talks with the prime minister at Downing Street the king stressed the linkage - which Mr Blair is reluctant to acknowledge in public - between progress on a solution to the Palestinian crisis and Anglo-American concerns about weapons of mass destruction allegedly being amassed by the Baghdad regime. Both sides later said that the talks had focused primarily on the stalled peace process between Israel and the Palestinians, "especially the urgent need to put an end to the deteriorating security situation and to alleviate suffering of the Palestinian people", Jordanian officials emphasised.
But they also made plain that the king also wants President Bush - whom he is visiting this week - to listen more to his secretary of state, Colin Powell, than to US hawks who are "fixated on Iraq" rather than the pressing need for relief supplies and a diplomatic timetable for a Palestinian state.
Mr Blair is jumpy about reports that he has already signalled willingness to back a US attack with British forces, despite the widespread doubts in Europe and the Middle East which, in an interview yesterday, King Abdullah suggested the prime minister privately shares. Mr Blair also had his first meeting yesterday with Dr Rowan Williams, the man he last week endorsed as the new Archbishop of Canterbury, despite his known scepticism about a fresh war against Saddam. The No 10 spokesman said the talks were "likely to be fairly introductory and wide-ranging".
Bruce George, Labour chairman of the Commons defence committee, yesterday admitted that US and UK lawyers would be able to find legal justifications for a future attack, but said it would be politically wise for Mr Blair to get a new UN mandate if he is to avoid serious opposition in parliament.
King Abdullah's London statement en route for Washington reiterated Jordon's desire for "dialogue based on UN security council resolutions (as) the only way to defuse the situation" in Iraq. Senior Tory MPs claim that the king privately backs US military action.
guardian.co.uk |
