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Blair recalls House for debate on Iraq

By Hasan Suroor

LONDON SEPT. 12. In what is seen as a victory for the growing anti-war sentiment among Labour MPs, the Prime Minister, Tony Blair, has agreed to recall Parliament from recess to discuss U.S. plans for military intervention in Iraq.

But Mr. Blair is still resisting demands that he should seek a vote before committing British support to any American move, and government sources were quoted as saying that a vote made no sense at this stage as no decision with regard to Iraq had been taken as yet.

The one-day special debate on September 24 would be preceded by the publication of a government dossier which promises to provide "evidence" of the threat posed by the Iraqi President, Saddam Hussein's regime. But sceptics doubted whether the long-awaited dossier would contain anything "dramatically different", from the document released by the International Institute of Defence Studies this week. The IIS document talks about Iraq's capability to put together a nuclear device in general terms but offers no clear evidence.

Mr. Blair, who has been under growing pressure from his own Cabinet ministers not to rush to a decision without consulting Parliament, said on Wednesday: "We are not at the stage of making decisions about military commitments with regard to Iraq, and that should do so in the future, Parliament would obviously be given every opportunity to express its view." He said MPs would have the chance to discuss the issue in the light of the upcoming discussions at the United Nations and the Government's dossier on Iraq. "This should allow Parliament to debate the issue with the fullest possible knowledge," he said.

Mr. Blair's decision follows threat by MPs to hold a "parallel" Parliament across the road from Westminster.

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