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Brits, Turks waffle on Iraq
U.S. allies Britain and Turkey appeared to waver yesterday in their resolve to back quick military action against Iraq with or without UN approval. Stunned by huge peace demonstrations over the weekend, British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said it would be "very difficult indeed" for the embattled Labor government of Prime Minister Tony Blair to wage war with a majority of the party and the nation opposed. Turkey also appeared taken aback by the massive protests and delayed a parliamentary vote on setting conditions for the flow of thousands of U.S. Army troops into the country to open a northern front against Iraq in the event of war.Thank god some people have common sense Iraq complicated the allied attempts to achieve unity by belatedly complying with a major demand of the UN weapons inspectors and allowing the first overflight of an American U-2 reconnaissance aircraft. The Iraqi Foreign Ministry said the spy plane made an overflight of more than four hours, but there was no immediate confirmation from the U.S. military. In Brussels, divisions among the 15 nations of the European Union on Iraq were further strained by a general declaration backing the U.S. push for swift and complete disarmament by Baghdad. The declaration said Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein had one "last chance" to disarm but also called war a "last resort." French President Jacques Chirac, who has led the opposition to a U.S.-led war, took theopportunity to scold several Eastern European countries that recently signed a letter backing the hawkish U.S. stand. Chirac suggested it could jeopardize their chances of joining the EU. "It is not really responsible behavior," he told a news conference. "It is not well-brought-up behavior. They missed a good opportunity to keep quiet." The EU declaration was overshadowed by Straw's earlier remarks that "we have to take account of public opinion" in backing the U.S. push for quick military action if Iraq fails to disarm. "It's patently more straightforward for governments to take a country to war, to military action, if they palpably have the public behind them than if not," Straw said. Straw and Blair said the British public would back the military option if authorized in a second UN resolution. Blair's staunch support for a war with Iraq has cost him politically in Britain, where a large portion of public opinion is opposed to a war. Serves him right, warmonger A poll by The Guardian newspaper released yesterday said only 35% of the British are satisfied with his leadership. Significantly, Straw said he "would not put a deadline" on talks to achieve a new resolution that Chirac said he already viewed as a nonstarter. "There is no need for a second resolution," Chirac said, "which France would have no choice but to oppose." Chirac said inspections were working and should continue. "We consider that war is always, always, the worst solution," Chirac said.
Posted by: Murat 2003-02-18 |
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