International

Blair's rhetoric on Iraq raises hackles

By Hasan Suroor

LONDON APRIL 8. The British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, returned home today from his summit with the U.S. President, George W. Bush and walked straight into a political row over his remarks on Iraq, particularly his threat of military action and a "regime change" in Baghdad.

Labour MPs were up in arms with a former Defence Minister, Peter Kilfoyle, calling it "Texan gung-ho commentary" which would "inflame" opinion in the Arab world. Another senior Labour figure and former Chancellor, Lord Healey, said it would be a "folly" to attack Iraq.

Glenda Jackson, actress and Labour MP, accused Mr. Blair of "upping the rhetoric". "It is very irresponsible to be upping the rhetoric without the relevant evidence that Saddam (Hussein) is engaged in the creation of weapons of mass destruction and his ability to deliver them," she said as party MPs prepared for a showdown with the Prime Minister at a meeting with him on Wednesday.

The senior-most Labour MP, Tam Dalyell, known as the "father of the House", warned that if Mr. Blair failed to convince his critics at the meeting there could be a demand for a vote in Parliament on the issue. "Mr. Blair will be asked on Wednesday why, if King Abdullah of Jordan, the Saudis, the Kuwaitis and the Iranians do not want this, then how can he justify it," he asked.

In a speech in Texas, Mr. Blair had said: "If necessary, the action (against Iraq) should be military and again, if necessary and justified, it should involve regime change." It was described as his toughest public rhetoric yet on Iraq, and observers noted that even Mr. Bush had not openly spoken of military action. It caused unease even among some Tories though the Conservative party supports Mr. Blair's hard line against Saddam Hussein.

The former Tory Prime Minister, Edward Heath, called for a "thorough discussion" in Parliament before a decision was taken. Independent analysts saw the Prime Minister's stance as a "defiance" of domestic opinion and yet another example of his increasingly "Presidential style". Mr. Blair sought to assure his critics that nothing had been done and told journalists accompanying him, "Let's not get ahead of ourselves. We are still in the position of identifying the problem and laying down conditions for Saddam," he said.

His Ministers also tried to play down the controversy with the Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw, saying that a decision on military action was "a long way off". His junior colleague in the Foreign Office, Ben Bradshaw, said the focus remained on efforts to get weapons inspectors back into Iraq. "On regime changes, Mr. Blair was referring specifically to Sierra Leone, Kosovo and Afghanistan — three examples of action that Britain has taken in recent years where there has been a regime change." Critics, however, remained sceptical and accused Mr. Blair of trying to appease the "hard right U.S. administration". More than 120 Labour MPs have already signed a parliamentary motion voicing their "deep unease" over British backing for any U.S. military action against Iraq.

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