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Politics : America Under Siege: The End of Innocence -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: calgal who wrote (21483)	2/15/2003 12:46:00 PM
From: calgal	Respond to of 27758

Hawkish Blair Says UN Must Act on Iraq URL:http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=564&ncid=716&e=12&u=/nm/20030215/ts_nm/iraq_blair_dc Sat Feb 15, 7:38 AM ET By Mike Peacock GLASGOW, Scotland (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Tony Blair (news - web sites) warned the United Nations (news - web sites) on Saturday that its authority would be shattered if Iraq is not disarmed soon peacefully or by force. Reuters Photo Latest news: • Thousands in Iraq March to Support Saddam AP - 1 hour, 49 minutes ago • U.S. Planes Hit Iraq Missile Sites AP - 1 hour, 55 minutes ago • U.S. Fails to Rally U.N. Support on Iraq AP - Sat Feb 15, 8:20 AM ET Special Coverage In remarks clearly aimed at world powers opposing U.S.-led preparations for war, Blair also dismissed last-minute moves by Iraqi President Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) as phony although he conceded that U.N. weapons inspectors would get more time to scour Iraq. "If we show weakness now, if we allow the plea for more time to become just an excuse for prevarication until the moment for action passes then...the menace, and not just from Saddam, will grow," Blair told a conference of his ruling Labour party in this Scottish city. "The authority of the U.N. will be lost and the conflict when it comes will be more bloody," he said. His unwaveringly tough speech represented a clear rebuke to Russia, France, China, Germany and others who, in a dramatic Security Council showdown on Friday, demanded more time for weapons searches and diplomacy. In a setback for the United States and Britain, U.N. arms officials held out hope that inspections were working, leading most council members to say it was premature to wage war. The United States and Britain have warned Saddam he faces military action unless he gives up all weapons of mass destruction -- which Iraq denies having -- and have massed tens of thousands of troops in the Gulf. Blair dismissed 11th hour moves from Saddam who, hours before the meeting on Friday, announced Iraq was adopting a law banning all weapons of mass destruction. "To anyone familiar with Saddam's tactics of deception and evasion, there is a weary sense of deja vu," he said in a passionate speech to skeptical supporters. "The concessions are suspect. Unfortunately, the weapons are real." "MORAL CASE FOR WAR" Blair will face European skeptics at an EU summit in Brussels on Monday. But first he faced equally tough opponents of war in his own party. Political history suggests that to press ahead with military action in defiance of public opinion, and the wishes of your political power base, spells disaster for any leader. Most Labour MPs and party activists are deeply hostile to another Gulf War (news - web sites), particularly if it is not authorized by a fresh United Nations resolution. Polls show most Britons agree. Blair switched tack, trying to make a "moral case" for war. As upwards of 500,000 anti-war protestors geared up to march through London, an unrepentant Blair said: "If there are 500,000 on that march, that is still less than the number of people whose deaths Saddam has been responsible for. "If there are one million, that is still less than the number of people who died in the wars he started." Blair has reserved the right to follow the United States into war without a fresh resolution, fearing that a key U.N. member or members will block it. British diplomats are still hopeful that nations will sign up to the use of force if given time and Blair again pledged to push for a new resolution. But with U.S. military leaders suggesting combat operations need to take place by mid-March, successful negotiations may not meet that deadline. Domestically, that could be Blair's nightmare scenario and he seemed to know it. "I do not seek unpopularity as a badge of honor," he said. "But sometimes it is the price of leadership."

To: calgal who wrote (21483)	2/15/2003 12:47:31 PM
From: calgal	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 27758

NATO Allies Seek to End Rift Over Iraq 14 minutes ago URL:http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=540&e=3&u=/ap/20030215/ap_on_re_mi_ea/nato_iraq By PAUL GEITNER, Associated Press Writer BRUSSELS, Belgium - NATO (news - web sites) members were in top-level negotiations Saturday seeking to rapidly resolve a dispute over U.S.-proposed plans in case of war in Iraq that has produced the alliance's worst split in years. AP Photo Slideshow: Iraq and Saddam Hussein NATO Dissenters Still Favor Peaceful Solution To Iraq Crisis (Reuters Video) Blix Delivers Report To U.N. (Reuters Video) Latest news: • Thousands in Iraq March to Support Saddam AP - 1 hour, 53 minutes ago • U.S. Planes Hit Iraq Missile Sites AP - 1 hour, 58 minutes ago • U.S. Fails to Rally U.N. Support on Iraq AP - Sat Feb 15, 8:20 AM ET Special Coverage For the past month, Germany, France and Belgium have blocked a U.S. proposal for NATO to send early warning planes, missile defenses and anti-biochemical warfare units as a precaution to Turkey, the only NATO country bordering Iraq. The holdouts argued such a step could undercut efforts to find a peaceful solution to the Iraq crisis. The other 16 NATO allies said the delay undermined NATO's credibility as an alliance that defends its members while sending a signal of weakness to Saddam Hussein (news - web sites)'s regime. On Saturday, a day after weapons inspectors' reports at the U.N. Security Council gave fresh encouragement to opponents of military action against Iraq, diplomats and officials in Brussels said efforts accelerated to de-escalate the division within NATO. A senior diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, said a solution was likely Monday or Tuesday in which all 19 allies would reaffirm the alliance's "solidarity and determination to stick to its obligations." He refused to elaborate on what else the compromise would involve. But others indicated support was building to use NATO's defense planning committee — which France withdrew from in the 1960s — to authorize the deployment of AWACS surveillance aircraft to Turkey. German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder refused to comment Saturday on NATO divisions. "I don't want to speculate," he told a news conference in Finland, where he met with Prime Minister Paavo Lipponen. But while Schroeder reiterated his support for continued U.N. weapons inspections to disarm Iraq without war, he shrugged off the rift between Europe and the United States over the crisis. "Everybody must understand that with such a long and intensive friendship, even on a daily basis...that even in old and good friendships there can be differences," he said. The head of the Italian Senate's foreign relations committee, Fiorello Provera, said after meetings Friday at NATO headquarters that U.S. Ambassador Nicholas Burns had suggested the supporters of the Turkey deployment were considering turning to that committee. Other defensive measures could be handled bilaterally. Germany was already sending Patriot missiles to Turkey through the Netherlands, for example. Belgian Foreign Ministry spokesman Didier Seeuws declined to comment on what Belgium would do. But he confirmed consultations were under way at a "high political level." "There are indeed efforts going on to de-dramatize everything by Monday or Tuesday," he said.