-Caveat Lector-
>From http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-337341,00.html
}}}>Begin
World News
June 25, 2002
Bush warned against hasty action on Iraq
>From Roland Watson in Washington
PRESIDENT Bush is being warned by his allies in
Washington and London that their support for military action against Saddam
Hussein cannot be taken for granted.
Republican and Democrat leaders have cautioned him against launching a hasty
attack on Iraq. They have also questioned whether the potential scale of a full
invasion, involving up to 250,000 US troops, makes it worthwhile.
Britain, while sharing deep concern at the dangers Saddam poses to the
international community, is also far from offering open-ended support for military
operations.
As Mr Bush tries to step up the case against rogue states and press home a US
policy of pre-emptive strikes, British officals emphasise the need for support among
other governments, particularly Arab states, for attacking Saddam.
One British official, referring to Saddam, said: “We want to deal with it but we want
to deal with it in the international community. We’re convinced he is developing
weapons which are a threat to the region and to stability more widely. But it’s very
important to work as far as possible with international opinion.”
London was not setting conditions for British support, the official said, but added:
“We want to make sure there’s an international consensus that action needs to be
taken”.
Other British sources said the key for London would be whether there was sufficient
support among Arab states in the Gulf and the Middle East, or at least an absence
of opposition, to taking on Saddam.
As Washington’s closest ally in the war on terror, and the only European country to
have tried to make the case for confronting Saddam, losing Britain’s support would
be a blow to Mr Bush. It also shows he has further to go in convincing Britain and
the rest of Europe of the credibility of American pre-emptive strikes.
However, administration officials in Washington say the lack of British military
involvement against Iraq would not deter Mr Bush. The Pentagon is drawing up
options for possible attacks, none of which is conditional on British support. “This is
going ahead regardless of what the Brits might say,” said one official.
But Mr Bush does face hurdles closer to home. Members of Congress have
expressed scepticism about the wisdom of an attack, particularly while the Middle
East is in turmoil.
Dennis Hastert, the House Speaker, has said Israel should be the focus of
Washington’s foreign policy. Trent Lott, the Senate minority leader, said he feared
that US forces were stretched to the limit. Henry Hyde, Republican chairman of the
House international relations committee, said: “An attack on Iraq would involve
untold consequences”.
Bob Graham, Democrat chairman of the Senate intelligence committee, was
concerned that a premature attack could fracture the coalition of nations co-
operating in the US war on terror.
Their comments warned Mr Bush that he should not forget Congress in planning
against Saddam, a sign that he may be forced, like his father, to seek a
congressional resolution before committing US troops in the Gulf.
Mr Bush was also facing renewed pressure yesterday about other foreign policy
priorities when two Democratic presidential hopefuls criticised his failure to lay out
his Middle East peace plan.
John Kerry, a Massachusetts senator, said the administration was guilty of a
catastrophic mismanagement of the crisis by engaging only fitfully. He said: “There
is no continuity, there is no fundamental plan. They sent mixed signals to every
side, if any signals at all. And in the end, I think they have contributed
significantly
to their own dilemma and to the dilemma of the Middle East today as a result of
that.”
Copyright 2002 Times Newspapers Ltd.
End<{{{
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