Blair Meets
French PM As Britons Vote Against “Unjustified” War on Iraq
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82% of those polled warned that attacking Iraq would result in numerous civilian victims, and 54% said Blair was acting like Bush's "poodle" |
LONDON,
August 12 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) – While two thirds of
British voters believe that a military attack against Iraq is not
justified, British Prime Minister Tony Blair is interrupting his
holiday Monday, August 12, to meet French Prime Minister, Jean-Pierre
Raffarin, in an attempt to heal the rift between Britain and the rest
of Europe over war on Iraq.
The
unscheduled talks in Le Vernet, the town in southern France where
Blair is staying, come amid a widening split on the issue between
Britain and her European partners, reports of disagreements between
Blair and the Chancellor, Gordon Brown, and an "offer" from
Iraqi President Saddam Hussein to allow United Nations inspectors to
return, reported the British daily newspaper, The Independent.
The
informal meeting between the two prime ministers comes as opinion
polls in both countries show a fierce opposition to a fresh,
unjustifiable strike on 12-year-sanction-hit Iraq.
Three
out of four French citizens would oppose the involvement of the
country's armed forces in a military attack against Iraq, said the Independent.
And
two thirds of British voters believe that a military attack against
Iraq is not justified, according to a poll published Monday in London,
amid growing signs of government unease at the rhetoric of the U.S.
administration, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.
Only
28 percent of those questioned said they felt a U.S. military strike
against Iraq could be justified in the current circumstances,
according to the poll published in the Daily Telegraph.
Ninety
percent warned that such action would result in Iraqi retaliation
against the West, while 82 percent warned that attacking Iraq would
result in numerous civilian victims.
A
majority of 62 percent said such action could lead to a larger Middle
East war.
The
British public do not rate U.S. President George W. Bush very highly
and fear that a war on Iraq will somehow destabilize the whole region,
said the Telegraph.
Asked
what level of confidence they had in Bush, 68 percent of the
respondents to the Telegraph poll replied that they had
"not much" or "none", with only 29 percent voicing
"a great deal" or "a fair amount" of confidence in
the U.S. president.
Fifty-four
percent felt Blair was acting like Bush's "poodle".
Only
19 percent felt that British troops should be sent to back up any U.S.
action against Iraq.
The
poll findings add weight to reports of widespread opposition within
the British administration over the question of an armed attack
against Iraq.
Blair
will not send any troops to support U.S. action against Iraq unless he
is absolutely convinced that war is the best option, one of his key
allies said in a newspaper interview also published Monday in London.
Washington
is sending mixed signals on Iraq, leading to a confused international
reaction, said Peter Mandelson, a former minister in Blair's Labor
government and still considered an influential figure in British
politics.
The
Americans "cannot be surprised that Europe and the world is
reacting in a confused way when the message we are getting from the
Administration is not clear", Mandelson said, following a visit
to Washington and New York.
"Public
opinion is being wound up by a mixture of partisan figures, armchair
generals focusing on the risks of action rather than the consequences
of failing to do anything, the lack of an international language from
the White House and the mixed messages from the Administration,"
he added, quoted by AFP.
"Together
all those things are creating an unknown quantity which people
understandably at this stage are increasingly worried about."
While
denying that he was a "dove" within the Labor party and
stressing his agreement with Blair that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein
must be tackled, Mandelson said that all options remained open.
"While
the Prime Minister will not want to weaken in any sense on the stance
he has taken, naturally he will not commit Britain to engaging in
military action unless and until it is clear that that is the best
option available and political and public opinion has been prepared to
support it".
Mandelson,
the architect of the project to turn Britain's old left-wing Labor
Party into the voter-friendly New Labor, added that the U.S.
administration was alienating world public opinion by concerning
itself primarily on public opinion at home rather than globally.
He
compared this stance with that taken by former U.S. President Bill
Clinton who, he said, had been able to present U.S. interests in a way
that corresponded to global concerns.
Mandelson's
comments echo reported doubts within Downing Street over Washington's
intentions, with members of the government irritated that the Bush
administration provided no precise details of its intentions.
On
Friday, August 9, the Independent reported that British
ministers and government officials had strongly advised the United
States against attacking Iraq, warning that such action would
intensify conflicts in the region.
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