Sun, Feb 16, 2003

 United we stand

 Backing Bush ... Blair stands tall

By GEORGE PASCOE-WATSON

Deputy Political Editor

BRITAIN and America are standing together and warning UN wobblers to back war on Iraq — or let tyrants take over the world.

Jack Straw and Colin Powell spoke with one voice after UN inspectors confirmed Saddam Hussein is STILL hiding weapons of mass destruction.

 The lives of millions of people around the world will be at risk if the UN bows to Saddam Hussein’s tricks and lies, the American Secretary of State warned.

 He said the UN had a DUTY to strip the Iraqi dictator of his biological and chemical arsenal.

 He told the 15-member Security Council: “We cannot wait for one of these terrible weapons to show up in one of our cities.”

 And he later told CNN news that America’s decision on whether to act was imminent, adding: “We’re talking weeks.”

 Mr Powell’s chilling warning came as chief UN weapons inspector Hans Blix revealed Saddam was still trying to conceal bombs and missiles.

 America — backed by Britain — agreed to calls for yet another Blix report in a bid to calm French, Russian and Chinese concerns about attacking Iraq.

 Bush ... Determined to crush evil

But they will push for a new UN resolution next week, backing war if Saddam continues to duck and dive. Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said: “Games have been played with our authority over the last 12 years. It has been a period of humiliation.”

 He said it was only a threat of war by the UN that had forced Saddam to let inspectors back.

 He added: “If we back away and give unlimited time, the peace and security of the world will not get easier but harder.”

 Britain and the US stood united as war wobblers continued to shilly-shally — despite Dr Blix’s damning report.

 The weapons chief revealed Saddam had ignored UN arms rules and still had ILLEGAL long-range Scud missiles, BANNED rocket power systems and HUGE stocks of anthrax, VX nerve agents and other bio-weapons.

 And crucially Dr Blix declared Saddam is still refusing to fully comply with UN Resolution 1441, passed nearly three months ago.

  Listening in ... UN Security Council

members digest Hans Blix's latest report

He said Iraq refused to prove it destroyed banned materials — making a mockery of inspections.

 Mr Powell told the Security Council: “You will recall we put a requirement for a declaration of their weapons as an early test of Iraq’s seriousness.

 “Are they serious? Are they going to disarm? Are they going to comply?

“The answer was ‘No, we are going to see how much we can get away with.’

 “More inspectors? I’m sorry, that is not the answer. These are all tricks that are being played on us. We cannot wait for one of these terrible weapons to show up in one of our cities only to discover it was detonated by al-Qa’ida.

 Straw ... We can't back down

“This is the time to go after this source of weaponry. These are terrible weapons that will kill not a few people, not tens of people or hundreds or even thousands of people if they got into the wrong hands.

“Our security rests on us meeting our responsbilities.”

 Mr Powell was backed by President George W Bush.

 Speaking in Washington, Mr Bush said: “Saddam Hussein is used to deceiving the world and he continues to do so.

 “Saddam Hussein has got ties to terrorist networks.

 “Saddam Hussein is a danger and that is why he will be disarmed one way or another.”

 Meanwhile, Mr Straw told the Security Council: “I believe a peaceful solution to this crisis can still be possible. But this will require a dramatic and immediate change by Saddam. This will only be achieved if we hold our nerve in the face of this tyrant.”

 France continued to defend its demand to give UN inspectors more time. Foreign minister Dominique de Villepin said he was proud of his nation’s actions.

 In London, Chancellor Gordon Brown ordered anti-war Labour MPs and activists to back Tony Blair’s call for Iraq to disarm.

 Meanwhile, anti-terror cops at Scotland Yard last night continued to quiz a 37-year-old man arrested at Gatwick Airport on Thursday with a live hand grenade in his suitcase.

 But he appears to be a lone maniac — not a terrorist. He is a Spanish-speaking Venezuelan, not Bangladeshi as first thought.

The Mirror, Feb 15 2003

BLIX: STILL NO EVIDENCE

 Inspectors can not find any sign of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction, UN told

From Richard Wallace, US Editor In New York

 PRESIDENT Bush and Tony Blair were looking increasingly isolated last night as Hans Blix reported there is still NO evidence to support a war on Iraq.

The UN's chief weapons inspector said his team had been unable to uncover any sign that Saddam Hussein was hiding weapons of mass destruction.

 REPORT: Blix at the UN

 And he cast doubt on US Secretary of State Colin Powell's "evidence" - including recent satellite pictures that claim to show the Iraqis are moving illegal arms just before the inspectors arrive.

 Last night French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin called for the next meeting of the Security Council to be on March 14, and said France saw no immediate need for a new council resolution.

 He said it was clear the inspections were working and added: "We don't need, at this time, a second resolution."

Asked during a break in the council meeting whether there was any chance the French could now support a resolution authorising war, he said simply: "No."

 Dr Blix delivered his latest report to a bitterly divided Security Council in New York.

 It immediately triggered an outcry from politicians and peace campaigners to give the inspectors more time.

 One observer said: "Hans Blix appears to have shot George Bush's fox." But Colin Powell was unmoved by the inspectors' report, claiming Saddam was "playing tricks".

 He added: "The threat of force must remain. It should be a last resort, but it must be a resort."

 He warned Iraq should not be allowed to string out inspections indefinitely.

 He said the Security Council should decide in the "very near future" whether it is time to consider the "serious consequences".

 Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said Saddam had "lied, concealed and played games."

 Mr Straw added: "I hope and believe that a peaceful resolution may still be possible, but this will require a dramatic and immediate change by Saddam.

 "This will only be achieved if we in the Security Council hold our nerve in the face of this tyrant."

 The Security Council meeting came as Iraq pledged to co-operate fully with the inspectors.

 Deputy Premier Tariq Aziz said: "We will do whatever is possible to reach the truth about the absence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq."

 But Britain's ambassador to the UN, Sir Jeremy Greenstock, was not impressed - even though he conceded a majority were in favour of ongoing inspections. He said Britain intended to make the Security Council face up to Iraq's failure to comply with the requirements of resolution 1441. "What has been asked for has not been produced," he said.

 Russia, China and Syria all called for the inspection team to carry on their work.

 China's foreign minister Tang Jiaxuan said: "We must use all possible means to avert a war."

In his report, Dr Blix said: "We are aware many governmental intelligence organisations are convinced proscribed weapons and programs continue to exist.

 "Governments have many sources of information that are not available to inspectors."

But he added: "The inspectors must base their reports only on the evidence which they can examine and present publicly.

 "Without evidence, confidence cannot arise."

 Dr Blix admitted some prohibited arms - including 1,000 tons of chemical agents and VX nerve gas - were still unaccounted for. But he added: "One must not jump to the conclusion that they exist. However, that possibility is also not excluded."

 He confirmed that Iraq's al-Samoud missile systems exceed the 93-mile range limit imposed by the UN, described by Tony Blair as "a significant breach."

 But he revealed inspectors had found only a small number of empty chemical munitions which should have been declared.

Dr Blix questioned "spy-in-the-sky" evidence of suspect truck movements at a munitions site.

 He said: "The reported movement could just as easily have been a routine activity."

The report brought renewed criticism of Mr Blair's support for military action.

 Labour MP Tam Dalyell, said it would be "wicked" to go to war on the basis of the report.

 He added: "There is not a shred of an excuse for launching a military attack."

 John McDonnell, chairman of the Campaign Group of Labour MPs called for a special party conference to show the strength of opposition to the war. He said: "We fear that Mr Blair is walking this country into a disaster."

 A poll by CBS and the New York Times reveals that 57 per cent of Americans reckon the weapons inspectors should be given more time. And 63 per cent said Mr Bush should not launch any strike without coalition support.