... and yet, no help is judged to be necessary ...
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Europeans Not Needed for Iraq Attack - U.S. Adviser
Sun Aug 18, 8:12 PM ET
By Andy Sullivan
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Pentagon ( news - web sites) adviser said on Sunday the United States would not need the support of European allies except Britain to launch an attack against Iraq, but a top Republican senator described international support as important.
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Slideshow: Iraq and Saddam Hussein
Pentagon adviser Richard Perle said the Bush administration would rely on help from Britain and dissident groups within Iraq, but would not expect other NATO ( news - web sites) allies to participate if the United States were to launch an attack.
"Our European allies are just not relevant to this. And the one of some importance, the United Kingdom, is, I believe, going to be with us," Perle said on ABC's "This Week."
"The rest of the Europeans prefer to look the other way or cut deals with Saddam or buy him off in various ways," said Perle, chairman of the Pentagon's Defense Policy Board, an advisory panel.
Bush and other top officials maintain that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein ( news - web sites) should be removed because he is trying to build an arsenal of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons. Iraq denies the charges.
Many European countries agree that Saddam should be pressured to comply with U.N. weapons inspections, but fear that a war in the Middle East would destabilize the region and possibly damage the world economy.
German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said earlier this month that an attack on Iraq could destroy international support for the U.S.-led war on terror.
Russia said on Sunday that it was set to sign a $40 billion economic and trade cooperation agreement with Iraq despite opposition from Washington.
In contrast to Perle, Indiana Republican Sen. Richard Lugar said it was important that the United States have the support of its NATO allies for any successful action in Iraq. Winning the support of those allies, Russia and key Middle Eastern countries, he said, was going to require some "heavy lifting."
"The fact is, some robust diplomacy is required now," Lugar, a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, said on NBC's "Meet the Press." "These coalitions don't happen by chance or by press release."
A Bush administration spokesman did not say whether international support was necessary for an attack, but pointed out that Bush did not attack Afghanistan ( news - web sites) last year until he had the backing of U.S. allies.
"If you look at President Bush ( news - web sites)'s experience and how we've done this in the past, (you'll see) that if he decides to go forward with any sort of military action that he'll do so in a way that is very responsible and very judicious," Bush spokesman Dan Bartlett said on "This Week." |
