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Bush, Blair at Odds Over Attack Timetable
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Bush, Blair at Odds Over Attack Timetable
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by William Walker
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WASHINGTON— U.S. President George W. Bush says he already has all the United Nations approval he needs to make war on Iraq, even after his closest ally, Britain's Tony Blair, appeared to soft-pedal the urgency of military action. The two emerged stiffly from what had been billed as a "war council" yesterday, seeming unable to clearly answer whether Bush had agreed with the British prime minister's initiative to seek a second U.N. resolution before going to war.Bush, looking tired and appearing less patient with reporters than normal, was asked directly if he agreed with Blair about seeking a second Security Council vote — authorizing an attack — to follow Resolution 1441, passed last fall."What I'm telling you," Bush said sternly, "is that this issue will come to a head in a matter of weeks, not months. Any attempt to drag this process on for months will be opposed by the United States."I am loath to put words in the prime minister's mouth, but I think he has been saying the same thing."But Blair told a different story in an interview with CNN earlier yesterday. "I don't think we should have some arbitrary timetable. You give it as long as it takes to come to a conclusive and final judgment they're not co-operating."After meeting with Bush for three hours at the White House yesterday — a planned visit to the Camp David retreat in Maryland was iced due to freezing rain — Blair stuck to his guns: "What is important is that the international community comes together again," he said.Bush praised Blair's leadership on Iraq, but in body language and tone, the warmth usually evident between the two leaders was notably absent.
With so much furious diplomatic activity going on, it wasn't immediately clear whether Blair's new push for a second U.N. resolution was a trade-off for the support he helped build for the U.S. position. The leaders of eight European nations, spearheaded by Blair, published an open letter in the Wall Street Journal and several European papers praising the "bravery and generosity of America" and calling on the international community to take a united stand against Iraq if President Saddam Hussein is found to have violated last fall's resolution ordering him to disarm. It was signed by Britain, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Hungary, Poland, Denmark and the Czech Republic.At Saddam's invitation, the U.N. weapons inspectors were back at work again yesterday, visiting sites Iraq invited them to see. Blair dismissed the event, saying Saddam was "up to his old tricks again."The White House had all but scrapped plans to seek a second resolution after learning — on Wednesday during a U.N. debate on Iraq — that it didn't have enough votes from member nations to get one passed. It has all along said the Nov. 8 resolution, threatening "serious consequences" if Iraq fails to disarm, is sufficient authorization for war.Standing beside Blair at the White House, Bush conceded a further resolution "would be welcomed if it is yet another signal that we're intent upon disarming Saddam Hussein." But he quickly added Resolution 1441 — which requires Iraq to submit to unconditional U.N. weapons inspections and eliminate any weapons of mass destruction and long-range missiles — already "gives us the authority to move without any second resolution."Bush has also said a plan circulating in Arab capitals to persuade Saddam to go into to exile "would be welcomed," but White House and U.S. State Department officials admit it's not being taken seriously.The theme of Resolution 1441 providing existing authority for war was adopted this week by Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, who now says all he needs to join Bush's "coalition of the willing" is "proof" of Iraq's weapons transgressions. Earlier, Chrétien had insisted Canada would not participate in a war without a further U.N. endorsement.Blair told CNN he believes the nations of the Security Council, and other countries, can be made to understand Saddam's threat and agree with the need to forcibly disarm Iraq — if given enough time. "The U.N.'s got to be the way of dealing with this issue, not the way of avoiding dealing with it," he said.Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell will release National Security Agency spy tapes next week that U.S. intelligence officials say show Iraq repeatedly lied to weapons inspectors, Newsweek magazine reported yesterday. It quotes U.S. intelligence officials as saying the decision to let Powell use such secret tapes was extraordinary — but the evidence was so damning their release outweighed any potential harm.
Copyright 1996-2003. Toronto Star Newspapers Limited
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