Infighting: Britain and US

Blair at odds with US over Syria and Iran threats
By George Jones, Political Editor and Toby Harnden in Washington
(Filed: 03/04/2003)


Differences between London and Washington over the future of the Middle East intensified yesterday when Tony Blair implicitly condemned the Pentagon's bellicose language against Syria and Iran.

The Prime Minister was challenged in the House of Commons by anti-war Labour MPs over speculation that the Bush administration might spread military action to Iraq's neighbours.


Blair: 'Iraq should be run by Iraqis'
Donald Rumsfeld, the US defence secretary, has warned Syria against supplying military equipment to Saddam Hussein's regime.

He also said the entry into Iraq of "military forces, intelligence personnel, or proxies" from Iran would be treated as a hostile act.

British diplomats said Mr Rumsfeld's harsh language was likely to inflame Arab opinion and be counter-productive in Syria and Iran.

President George W Bush has already identified Iran as part of an "axis of evil". However, American officials do not intend to take military action against Iran and hope instead that there will be a popular revolution there.

The Prime Minister said Britain had "absolutely no plans" for military action against either country. Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary, said earlier that the Government would have nothing to do with such an approach.

Mr Straw told BBC radio that Iran was an emerging democracy and "there would be no case whatsoever for taking any kind of action".

He said Britain had good co-operation from the Iranian government. The Iranians had more reason to know of the terror imposed by Saddam than almost any other country, including Kuwait.

Britain was working hard to improve relations with Syria. But he urged the Syrian government not to allow its territory to be used as a conduit for military supplies to Iraq. Mr Blair later emphasised that Britain would not find it acceptable if Syria supported elements in Iraq attacking allied forces.

Mr Straw was asked whether he was worried that an impression was being created that once Iraq had been tackled, Syria and Iran might be next in line.

"It would worry me if it were true," he said. "It is not true, and we would have nothing whatever to do with an approach like that."

Mr Straw has made extensive personal efforts to improve relations between Britain and Iran, while Mr Blair has worked to improve contacts with Syria.

But Washington views the leadership of both countries as part of the global terrorist network.

Mr Blair assured the Commons that Iraq should be run by Iraqi people as soon as possible after the war ended, an approach also favoured by the Pentagon.

He supported a "broadly representative" Iraqi government that protected human rights rather than the country being run by the UN or America.

At Question Time, Mr Blair acknowledged that there were differences over who would run an interim post-war administration in Iraq. Britain wants a bigger UN involvement in the interim body to be set up before Iraqis can take control.

Challenged by Iain Duncan Smith, the Tory leader, about the post-conflict situation, Mr Blair said: "As soon as possible, Iraq should not be run either by the coalition or by the UN - it should be run by Iraqis."

Mr Blair said he wanted to develop an interim authority that would be "Iraqi in nature".

Downing Street said it envisaged that there would be a three-stage transition towards a new Iraqi government. As soon as the war was over, the military would be in charge, followed by an "interim Iraqi authority", leading to a "fully representative Iraqi government".

Mr Blair told MPs: "It is in everyone's interest to get to the fastest possible point where the Iraqi government is indeed Iraqi."

Mr Blair also paid tribute to British forces, saysaying they had performed "magnificently".

Tweet