British Prime Minister Tony Blair on Thursday called for a tough new United Nations Security Council resolution so as to give Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein a "clearer message."
Telling BBC Radio 4's Today program, Blair said "the harder the international community is at the moment, the clearer the message we send (to Saddam), the greater the likelihood there is of avoiding conflict."
Blair was speaking in Blackpool, where the Labor Party is holding its annual conference.
The Iraqi issue was back at the top of the agenda at Labor's conference on Wednesday after former US President Bill Clinton urged the international community to "call Saddam's bluff." Clinton also urged the United Nations to pass a new resolutionon weapons inspections.
That was a point underlined by Blair on Thursday as he called the current weapons inspection rules "defective." "It is necessary to have a tough resolution because what is absolutely clear is that the previous regime was not enough to get the job done," Blair conveyed.
Meanwhile, Hans Blix, head of the UN inspections team, was due to brief the security council in New York on Thursday about his talks with Iraqi officials. US Secretary of State Colin Powell and British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw had repeatedly said a new resolution allowing unrestricted access to Iraq, with the threat of military force if there is a failure to comply, is needed. (Albawaba.com)
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