Britain can use force against Iraq without a UN mandate if Iraqi President Saddam Hussein is seen as a threat, Defense Secretary Geoff Hoon said Sunday.
The government reserves the right to order a nuclear attack against Iraq if chemical or biological weapons are targeted at British troops or the public, Hoon said during a television interview, echoing comments he made last week.
His remarks appeared to be at odds with those of Britain's International Development Secretary Clare Short, who on Friday insisted that any military action against Saddam's regime would require a specific UN mandate, AFP reported.
Short, said to have misgivings about the prospect of Prime Minister Tony Blair's support of US strikes against Baghdad, called for a "more sophisticated discussion" about what the options were.
Hoon's tough position on Iraq was echoed by Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, who said Saddam had "culpably failed" to comply with his country's international obligations.
The British and US governments had not taken any decisions about military action against Iraq and any move would be within international law, Straw insisted.
However, he warned if Baghdad continued to refuse to allow UN weapons inspectors back into the country, then the position in international law may change.
Hoon also appeared to dismiss comments made by Short about whether the Israeli-Palestinian conflict had to be resolved before dealing with Iraq.
"I don't think it is possible to make one set of difficult international circumstances dependent on another," he said.
"I certainly don't believe that we can expect to resolve that long-running, enormously sensitive and difficult subject as a condition (for action on Iraq)." (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
