The British Prime Minister Tony Blair strengthened Tuesday his support for a possible attack on Iraq, saying it "poses a real and unique threat" to the security of the Middle East region and the world.
Blair made these comments on Iraq in a news conference in his northeast England constituency of Sedgefield.
"I believe it is in the United Kingdom's national interest that the issue is addressed," he said. Blair aired "America should not face the issue alone" and promised "the fullest possible debate will take place in Parliament and elsewhere". "The rest of the world has a responsibility, not just America," he said.
Blair denied Britain and the US had made any decisions on the best way to address the danger posed by Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. But he said: "There is constant dialogue and discussion. We're in close dialogue with the United States. Iraq poses a real and unique threat to the rest of the world."
"We are confronted with this reality and we have to face up to it and deal with it. The issue is, what is the best way to deal with it."
The British leader refused to align himself with US President George W Bush's policy of toppling the Iraqi dictator. Instead, he said Saddam must take immediate action to comply with UN resolutions on weapons of mass destruction. "Either the regime starts to change its ways, or the regime must change," he said.
"The key objective with us is to deal with the threat. The key issue is Iraq continues to build up the chemical, biological and nuclear threat."
Blair said he intended to publish a dossier of evidence proving the danger posed by Saddam "in the next few weeks". "I think that when that happens, people will see that there is no doubt at all the United Nations resolutions that he stands in breach of are there for a purpose."
Israel
Israel has asked its security and emergency services to complete preparations for a possible U.S. attack on Iraq - and an Iraqi counterstrike against Israel - by November 1, officials said Tuesday.
The United States has not told Israel if or when it will attack Iraq, and November 1 was chosen by Israel as a "reasonable" deadline for preparations, to make sure no branch of the security or emergency services lagged behind, said a senior government official, AP reported.
Ra'anan Gissin, an adviser to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, refused to discuss Israel's preparations for a possible U.S. attack on Iraq, except to say that Israel would be forewarned about any such action.
"The President of the United States will give us ample warning so that we can prepare for the possibility of an Iraqi attack on Israel," Gissin said.
The Israeli Ma'ariv daily reported that Sharon met Tuesday with the heads of his security forces to discuss a possible U.S. attack on Iraq. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
