John i don't understand your point, but....
Blair says America should not have to act alone against Iraq
By Ed Johnson, Associated Press, 9/3/2002 10:30
LONDON (AP) Prime Minister Tony Blair said Tuesday that Saddam Hussein poses a threat to the world and insisted the United States should not have to act alone, as international pressure mounted on Washington not to move against Iraq without U.N. approval.
''Iraq poses a real and a unique threat to the security of the region and to the rest of the world,'' Blair told a news conference. ''This is not just an issue for the U.S. It is an issue for Britain and the wider world.''
Blair said Saddam was violating United Nations resolutions and was continuing ''in his efforts to create weapons of mass destruction.''
''We cannot have a situation where people turn a blind eye,'' he added.
Commentators suggested Blair's remarks are an attempt to rally international support for action against Iraq, as other countries raise doubts in Europe and elsewhere about the wisdom of going to war.
In recent days, a chorus of European leaders have urged Washington to exercise restraint in its plans against Baghdad.
French President Jacques Chirac has said that any military action against Iraq be decided by the U.N. Security Council. German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, an outspoken critic of an invasion, has called on the White House to consult fully with allies on its plans.
Britain is one of the United States' strongest allies, but Blair has barely spoken in public about Iraq in recent weeks. He has come under mounting pressure from the British news media and members of his own governing Labor Party to explain his position.
Facing a barrage of questions from journalists about Britain's position on Iraq, Blair said inaction was not an option but insisted no decision had been made what to do.
''I do believe that the threat posed by the current Iraqi regime is real, I believe that it is in the U.K.'s national interest that this is addressed, just as dealing with the terrorists after Sept. 11 was in our national interest even though the actual terrorist act took place thousands of miles away on the streets of New York, not in London,'' he said.
''The whole of the international community has a responsibility to deal with this,'' Blair said.
''If Sept. 11 teaches us anything, it teaches us that it is wrong to wait until the threat materializes,'' he said. ''These issues are being raised rightly by the United States.''
About 160 lawmakers, many members of Blair's governing Labor Party, have signed a motion cautioning against military action.
Concern is also growing among the British public about participating in any U.S. offensive against Saddam. An ICM poll published this week suggested 71 percent of voters oppose Britain joining a war against Iraq that lacks U.N. approval.
U.N. inspectors charged with confirming the dismantling of Iraq's mass-destruction weapons have been barred from Iraq since 1998. |
