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Politics : DON'T START THE WAR -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Ed Huang who wrote (983)	1/12/2003 2:08:17 PM
From: Ed Huang	Respond to of 25898

Britain Must Rein in U.S. Over Iraq, Minister Says Sun January 12, 2003 12:11 PM ET By Dominic Evans LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's International Development Secretary Clare Short said Sunday London should not join a unilateral U.S. attack on Iraq and said it was Britain's duty to restrain Washington. Short, one of the most dovish members of Prime Minister Tony Blair's cabinet, reflected growing unease within his Labor government at the prospect of military action unless U.N. weapons inspectors uncover direct evidence of Iraqi violations. "I think it's very dangerous. I'm very very worried," Short told ITV's Jonathan Dimbleby program. "I think all the people of Britain have a duty to keep our country firmly on the U.N. route, so that we stop the U.S. maybe going to war too early, and keep the world united," she said. Britain, which dispatched its flagship aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal for possible war in Iraq Saturday, has backed President Bush's tough calls for Iraqi President Saddam Hussein to disarm. But Blair softened his rhetoric last week, saying the U.N. inspectors should be given "time and space" to do their job. Blair is likely to travel to the United States for talks with Bush shortly after the January 27 deadline for chief weapons inspector Hans Blix to report to the U.N. Security Council, sources familiar with the plans said Saturday. British newspapers reported earlier that Blair was expected to meet Bush and Blix in an effort to prevent an early war against Iraq becoming inevitable. Short said she believed Iraq was concealing chemical and biological weapons -- in violation of U.N. resolutions -- and did not rule out using military force against Saddam. But any attack must avoid inflicting suffering on Iraqi civilians. "The role of the United Kingdom in this historic and dangerous time, when the world is feeling so fragile, is to try to keep the U.S. with the U.N. process," she said. Asked if Britain would stay out of the conflict if the United States "went alone" she said: "That's the logic of the position." Short said the relentless focus on Iraq, while the United States appeared to ignore Israeli-Palestinian conflict, was causing anger and distrust in the world. "That makes the world feel there is double standards, and that doesn't help anyone," she said. reuters.com