Blair rules out military action against Iraq

By Hasan Suroor

LONDON, OCT. 14. In comments which, observers say, are not likely to please the hawks in Washington, the British Prime Minister, Mr. Tony Blair, has emphatically ruled out any military action against Iraq as part of the U.S.-led ``war'' against terror, and made clear that he does not believe there is evidence linking Baghdad with the September 11 outrage.

``I think what people need before we take action against anyone is evidence,'' he told The Observer in an interview categorically rejecting speculation that the offensive in Afghanistan might be widened to target other so- called ``rogue'' States, such as Iraq and Syria. No further action would be decided without consulting ``our partners'', he said. The first phase, he explained, was focussed entirely on Afghanistan to flush out the perpetrators of the terror attacks in New York and Washington, and in the second phase which would be about ``tackling terrorism in all its forms...then that's something we have to discuss with our partners.''

His remarks were seen as a pointed message to those in the U.S. administration who want Iraq to be targeted. There is unease here over some of the shrill rhetoric from Washington at a time when Mr. Blair is working overtime to convince the Muslim world that the current campaign is not directed against Islam. The British Government, it is reported, has been trying to impress upon the U.S. administration to restrain the hawkish noises and make sure that Washington and London are seen to be speaking in one voice.

One commentator said it would be ``almost impossible'' to sustain the Arab support for the coalition if there was constant clamour for attacking other Muslim countries. Downing Street sources, who briefed foreign correspondents this week, were at pains to play down the talk of a ``wider'' war that could include military strikes against Iraq. They pleaded with the media ``not to get ahead of ourselves'' insisting that Afghanistan remained the ``focus'' of the current campaign. They also distanced the British Government from the U.S. President, Mr. George W. Bush's statement that his country was not engaged in ``nation-building'' in Afghanistan. They said the U.S. was speaking for itself, but Britain would ``not walk away'' from Afghanistan in a post- Taliban situation and would help in putting together a broad- based, multi-ethnic alternative government.

Mr. Blair, in his interview, underlined this saying Britain would not repeat the mistake which the West made when ``once the Russians had gone we just lost interest in the place''. He quoted the Pakistani President, Gen. Parvez Musharraf and his Ministers as telling him that they did not want to support the Taliban but ``you people never gave us any help, so we never had any option but to deal with the Taliban.''

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : International
Next     : Khatami denounces violence in Islam's name