US prepared to go it alone, allies warned
Richard Norton-Taylor
Monday February 4, 2002
The Guardian
Tension between the US and its European
allies intensified yesterday as senior US
officials warned that Washington would
act alone in its "war" on terrorism, stoked
up their rhetoric against Iraq, and chided
their Nato partners for failing to increase
defence budgets.
"What happened on September 11,
terrible as it was, is but a pale shadow of
what will happen if terrorists use weapons
of mass destruction," Paul Wolfowitz,
deputy US defence secretary, told an
international security conference in
Munich.
"Our approach has to aim at prevention
and not merely punishment. We are at
war," he said, adding: "Those countries
that choose to tolerate terrorism and
refuse to take action - or worse, those
that continue to support it - will face
consequences."
Mr Wolfowitz, one of the leading hawks in
the Bush administration, made it clear the
US would act whether or not all its allies
agreed. The war against terrorism would
need "flexible coalitions", he said.
Richard Perle, a senior Republican foreign
policy adviser, told the conference in
Munich: "Never has the United States
been more unified, never has it been more
purposeful, never has it been more willing,
if necessary, to act alone.
"If we have to choose between protecting
ourselves against terrorism and a long list
of friends and allies, we will protect
ourselves against terrorism."
Differences between the US and Britain
over Iran emerged yesterday when the US
defence secretary, Donald Rumsfeld,
accused Tehran of letting Taliban and
al-Qaida members escape from
Afghanistan.
"There isn't any doubt in my mind that the
porous border between Iran and
Afghanistan has been used for al-Qaida
and Taliban to move into Iran and find
refuge," he said.
Mr Rumsfeld also said the US has "any
number of reports" that Iran has been
contributing to instability inside
Afghanistan by arming Afghan factions.
British officials give a very different picture
of Iran's attitude towards the al-Qaida
network, which consists of Sunni
Muslims, unlike most Muslims in Iran,
who are Shia.
They say Iran has adopted a positive
stance against al-Qaida terrorism and has
detained a number of its fighters.
Tehran supported the Northern Alliance
against al-Qaida and the Taliban during
the Afghan civil war.
Senior Foreign Office diplomats say it is
in Britain's "national strategic interest" to
engage with Iran, and encourage
reformers in the country.
Jack Straw, the foreign secretary,
reflected growing European dismay at
Washington's hard line during a visit to the
US capital on Friday when he suggested
that the president's remarks were
motivated by US domestic politics.
Mr Bush's address was "best understood
by the fact that there are mid-term
congressional elections coming up in
November", he told reporters. The Foreign
Office, and the US state department,
firmly believe it is in the west's interest to
engage with Iran to encourage reformers
there.
The Foreign Office has also said there is
no evidence that Saddam Hussein was
implicated in the September 11 attacks.
As the US Congress prepares to raise
defence spending by $120bn (£85bn) over
five years to $451bn, Lord Robertson, the
Nato secretary general, said yesterday
that Europe was "militarily undersized".
"American critics of Europe's military
incapability are right," he warned the
European allies. "So, if we are to ensure
that the United States moves neither
towards unilateralism nor isolationism, all
European countries must show a new
willingness to develop effective crisis
management capabilities."
European politicians expressed deep
concern about the US warnings.
Menzies Campbell, Liberal Democrat
foreign affairs spokesman, said that
"action against Iraq, it seems to me,
requires uncontrovertible evidence in order
to act, and I speak as a member of a
parliament of a country willing to put boots
on the ground".
The $48bn Mr Bush plans to increase
military spending by this year is itself a
third higher than the total military budget
of Britain, the next-largest military
spender in Nato.
But Geoff Hoon, the British defence
secretary, faces a tough battle with the
Treasury to increase his budget. A big
rise is essential if Britain is to maintain its
existing commitments, defence chiefs
say.
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