Blair meets key leaders

By Hasan Suroor

LONDON, NOV. 4. Continuing his high-profile diplomatic campaign to sustain the U.S.-led coalition, the British Prime Minister, Mr. Tony Blair, met some of his key European allies at Downing Street on Sunday evening ahead of his visit to Washington on Wednesday.

His meeting with the German Chancellor, Mr. Gerhard Schroeder, the French President, Mr. Jacques Chirac and the Prime Minister, Mr. Lionel Jospin, came amid reports that the U.S. and British forces were preparing to launch a major ground offensive in Afghanistan.

Mr. Blair is reported to have briefed them on his latest trip to West Asia which, though marred by controversy, is officially seen here as a step forward in keeping the dialogue going with the Arab world. The discussions were held against the backdrop of U.S. and British efforts to revive the peace process in West Asia in a frantic bid to address the anger in the Arab world over the perceived pro-Israeli tilt in the U.S. foreign policy.

Commentators said the West was keen to be seen as being sensitive to the Arab countries' concerns as it tries to bolster Muslim support for the war in Afghanistan.

Today's round was the latest in a series of talks which Mr. Blair held this week, including one with the Italian Prime Minister, Mr. Silvio Berlusconi, whom he met on his way back from his West Asian visit. He was also scheduled to meet the Israeli Prime Minister, Mr. Arien Sharon, but the latter cancelled his trip citing political difficulties at home.

Mr. Blair is unfazed by criticism that he is overstretching himself on America's behalf, and being increasingly seen as the U.S. President, Mr. George W. Bush's ``envoy'' rather than a Western leader in his own right. Ministers have been at pains to deny that the coalition is not pulling together, and the visit to London of such heavyweight European leaders as Mr. Schroeder and Mr. Chirac is cited as a proof that the allies are working closely to see the campaign through.

Meanwhile, there was unease over the latest video- broadcast by Osama bin Laden calling moderate Muslim countries ``infidels'' for cooperating with the coalition. The broadcast over Al-Jazeera satellite TV channel said that whoever supported the U.S.-led campaign was committing an anti-Islamic act as the war in Afghanistan was ``primarily a religious war.'' The Foreign Office Minister, Mr. Peter Hain, dismissed it as ``contemptible'' and said it was an evidence of Osama's ``total isolation and desperation''. But there was concern of its impact on hardline Muslim opinion as The Sunday Times published a poll showing that 40 per cent of the British Muslims supported Osama, though an overwhelming majority condemned the Sept. 11 outrage and believed there can be no justification for it.

While Muslim leaders said the poll - conducted by newspaper's staff rather than professional pollsters - did not reflect the diversity of Muslim opinion, they were worried that it might reinforce the community's ``fundamentalist'' image.

In the past week, the media has been full of stories about Muslim youths travelling to Afghanistan to join the ``jehad''. But officials and Ministers dismissed these reports as highly exaggerated, and wanted the people to treat them with scepticism.

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Section  : International
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