The Hindu : U.K. in `war' mode

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Mar 05, 2003

International

International

U.K. in `war' mode

By Hasan Suroor

LONDON MARCH 4. Britain has gone into the `war' mode with the arrival of eight American B52 bombers at an RAF base in Gloucestershire in a replay of the 1991 Gulf conflict when the same base was used by U.S. bombers to target Iraq.

The British Government has allowed the RAF station to be used by Americans ignoring protests from peace activists who stormed the U.S. facilities last week, and have threatened more demonstrations. The first batch of B52s landed on the British soil as MPs expressed concern over reports of a significant increase in British and U.S. attacks in the Iraqi `no-fly' zones and accused the two countries of having already embarked on an undeclared and unauthorised war.

While the Defence Secretary, Geoff Hoon, claimed that there had been "no substantial'' change in the operation of the `no-fly'' zones, MPs insisted that the sharp rise in the number and pattern of raids amounted to rushing into a war through the `backdoor'. Even the Tories, who are supporting the British Government's Iraq policy, said it constituted "opening shots'' in a war that had not been formally declared.

Labour MPs demanded an `emergency' statement amid reports that at least two Cabinet Ministers could resign if Britain decided to back a U.S.-led war without a second UN resolution. The leader of the Commons, Robin Cook, and the International Development Secretary, Clare Short, were said to be among the leading `doves' in the Cabinet even as the rebellion among backbench MPs was reported to be intensifying.

Significantly, the Russian Foreign Minister, Igor Ivanov, who arrived here today, took the initiative of meeting a group of MPs before holding talks with the Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw. Meanwhile, the British Government announced emergency plans to deal with a possible terrorist attack on London. The Home Secretary, David Blunkett, said the Government would stage an operation "simulating a catastrophic incident'' fuelling fears of an attack on the city because of Britain's involvement in the Iraq crisis.

The Times reported that "emergency bases'' for the Prime Minister and his team were being set up outside London to "keep Britain running in the event of a big terrorist attack in the Capital''.

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