International
Britain too talks tough on Iraq
By Hasan Suroor
LONDON, DEC. 6. In what is seen as a quiet shift in Britain's opposition to targeting Iraq, the Foreign Secretary, Mr. Jack Straw, has echoed the American warning to Baghdad that it must allow U.N. weapons inspectors back into the country or face military consequences.
He justified pre-emptive military strikes against a country saying under the international law, any country was entitled to take action in self-defence if it had ``very good information'' that another country was planning an attack. He did not name Iraq, but in the same breath, declared that its programme of weapons of mass destruction posed a ``very considerable threat'' to international security.
``We are very concerned about Iraq's development of these weapons and believe action must be taken,'' he said. Mr. Straw's remarks at a meeting of Parliament's Foreign Affairs Select Committee, were seized by critics who said Britain was beginning to ``crack up'' under U.S. pressure to extend the anti- terrorism war in Afghanistan to Iraq, and possibly other countries on Washington's list of ``rogue'' states. ``Pressure from Washington appears to be forcing Britain - at least in public - to adopt a more aggressive stance (towards Iraq),'' The Guardian said in a front-page report.
Britain has consistently maintained that the current military action to hunt down the perpetrators of the Sept. 11 outrage against America is restricted to Afghanistan, and the U.S.-led international coalition has no mandate to extend it to any other country. The Prime Minister, Mr. Tony Blair, has repeatedly made clear that there is no direct evidence to link Iraq with the Sept. 11 attacks and Britain is not in favour of stretching the Afghanistan model to Baghdad.
Fears of an Arab backlash and its effect on the stability of the coalition have shaped Britain's thinking on the issue. Europeans too have taken a strong stand against attacking Iraq with both France and Germany saying that it would destabilise West Asia at a time when the situation in the region is already tense. Observers, however, believe that the military ``success'' in Afghanistan has emboldened the ``hawks'' in Washington to take on Iraq and in the past week there has been a spate of statements from important American figures, most notably from the President, Mr. George W. Bush himself, threatening Mr. Saddam Hussein with ``consequences''.
``In order to make it appear that it is not part of the Afghanistan campaign, the justification being given is that Iraq is not cooperating with the U.S. weapons inspectors,'' one commentator said, adding that this was intended to ``soften'' up those of America's allies who are opposed to ``Afghanistan Mark II''.
Significantly, Mr. Straw's remarks coincided with a similarly aggressive statement from the Defence Secretary, Mr. Geoff Hoon, justifying use of military force against states which harbour or support terrorists. ``We may need to coerce regimes and states which harbour or support international terrorism, with the threat and ultimately the use of military force in the event that diplomatic and other means fail,'' he said in a speech here on Wednesday.
One newspaper noted the ``striking similarity in the language of both Cabinet Ministers and their hawkish tone'' which, it said, contrasted sharply with previous Government statements.
Meanwhile, Mr. Straw described the Bonn agreement on Afghanistan as a ``first step'' towards rebuilding the war- ravaged country, but said tackling the threat posed by international terrorism was a ``long and complex'' process.
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