- The Bush Administration faced a rebellion last night
among its closest Arab and European allies, who warned Washington not to
carry out its threat of war against Iraq.
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- In some of the most uncompromising language used by America,s
former coalition partners in the Gulf War, Washington was told that it
could have to fight alone if it chooses to depose Saddam Hussein by force.
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- President Mubarak of Egypt, one of America,s closest
allies in the region, gave warning of Arab anger unless some form of peace
was first reached between Israel and the Palestinians. "If you strike
Iraq, and kill the people of Iraq while Palestinians are being killed by
Israel . . . not one Arab leader will be able to control the angry outburst
of the masses, he told students in Alexandria.
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- "I don,t think there is one Arab state that wants
a strike on Iraq, not Kuwait, not Saudi Arabia, not any other state, he
said, adding that a military intervention in Iraq could lead to "chaos
across the region.
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- Last night President Bush attempted to patch up relations
with America,s most important Arab ally when he telephoned Crown Prince
Abdullah of Saudi Arabia to assure him that the two countries remained
close friends. The US leader also received Prince Bandar, the Saudi Ambassador
to Washington, and his family as guests on his ranch in Crawford, Texas.
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- Mr Mubarak,s concern was reflected by the Gulf states,
which would be expected to provide the launch pad for any American attack.
Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabr al-Thani, Qatar,s Foreign Minister, visited
Baghdad in order, he said, to avert "a catastrophe.
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- His country is home to a huge new US airbase likely to
be used in any offensive but he said Qatar was "against any military
action.
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- Similar concerns were expressed by officials from Bahrain,
headquarters of US naval forces in the Gulf, and Saudi Arabia, which has
already ruled out allowing American forces based on its soil to attack
Iraq.
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- The latest crisis was triggered on Monday by Dick Cheney,
the US Vice-President, who said that a pre-emptive strike against Iraq
was necessary to stop Saddam acquiring nuclear weapons. He suggested that
even if Baghdad allowed the return of United Nations weapons inspectors,
Washington would still not be convinced that the threat of Iraq amassing
weapons of mass destruction could be eliminated.
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- Britain, the only country likely to join US forces in
a military assault, responded by insisting that a diplomatic solution was
still possible. The cautious approach coincided with a poll among Labour
voters showing growing opposition to a war against Iraq.
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- Last night tensions were raised further in the region
by reports that American and British warplanes had launched two airstrikes
against suspected Iraqi anti-aircraft batteries in northern and southern
Iraq. Baghdad said that the civilian airport in the northern city of Mosul
had been hit in one of the heaviest bombings in months.
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- The talk of war and the latest actions on the ground
appeared to help Iraq,s diplomatic offensive that is under way in the Arab
world and as far away as Beijing, where the country,s Foreign Minister
held talks with the Chinese leaders.
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- Taha Yassin Ramadan, the Iraqi Vice-President, who was
in Damascus, issued a defiant message: "We could not care less about
the threats that are out there. Iraq has a longer history with these threats
and such despotism.
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- Other Arab leaders appeared far more sensitive to the
threat of war, which many experts say could be launched as soon as this
winter.
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- The response from America,s European allies ranges from
caution in Britain to suspicion in France and outright rejection in Germany.
Growing differences between London and the hawks in the Bush Administration
were exposed by Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary, who insisted that Saddam
could still avoid conflict by readmitting UN arms inspectors.
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- The day after Mr Cheney doubted the value of a return
by the inspectors, the Foreign Secretary said that the Government was "clear
that it preferred a diplomatic solution to war.
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- On a visit to Edinburgh, Mr Straw again indicated that
the Iraqi leader could escape a devastating military assault if he readmitted
the UN inspectors. "The ball is now in Saddam Hussein,s court, he
said.
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- "Let me repeat what the Prime Minister and I have
made all too clear so often " and that is that no decisions about
military action have been taken here and no decisions about military action
have been taken in the US.
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- He said that only if inspectors were not allowed the
chance to resume their work of searching for and destroying Iraqi chemical,
nuclear and biological weapons could the West decide about the use of military
force.
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- His remarks came as a new poll last night indicated that
opposition to war against Iraq had grown sharply among Labour voters. The
Guardian ICM survey showed that opposition to American policy on Iraq has
risen to 52 per cent among Labour supporters, with support dropping eight
points to 35 per cent.
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- In Germany the Chancellor, Gerhard Schröder, said
in an interview last night that the Bush Administration,s policy was a
mistake.
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- "We are still far away from achieving peace in the
Middle East " to talk about an attack against Iraq now is wrong, Herr
Schröder said. "Under my leadership Germany will not take part
in that.
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- France, too, was deeply critical. Dominique de Villepin,
the Foreign Minister, said that Washington should not take action against
Iraq without UN approval.
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- http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-396895,00.html
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