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E.U. and other world countries are against a
U.S. strike on Iraq |
LONDON,
August 16 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) – Iraq will agree to the
return of U.N. arms inspectors, provided they are accompanied by
"neutral observers" including British religious leaders,
union officials and the media, senior diplomatic sources told the
British daily newspaper, The Independent, Thursday, August 15.
Baghdad
is sending a letter to the U.N. secretary general, Kofi Annan, which
is likely to demand that any observers ensure the inspections are not
spying missions and that "doctored findings of weapons of mass
destruction" are not used to justify a U.S. attack, the sources
said.
Iraq
will also insist that a large proportion of the delegation comes from
Europe, and that the U.N. does not let the Bush administration veto
its composition, the paper added.
The
conditions will be seen as an attempt to split the Western allies,
said the Independent. Iraq believes public opinion in Europe is
now solidly against military action. But sources close to Annan
reacted warily to the offer, predicting it would not sit well with
some on the Security Council. Diplomats also warned that no official
word had come from Iraq.
Last
month, Iraq invited Hans Blix, the chief U.N. weapons inspector, to
visit Baghdad for talks, but Annan said Baghdad must first agree to
the resumption of the inspections.
Meanwhile,
the Guardian daily newspaper reported Friday, August 16, that
British Prime Minister Tony Blair has blocked attempts by senior
ministers to stage a full-scale cabinet debate on the threat of a
British-backed invasion of Iraq.
Some
ministers have approached the prime minister privately to suggest
cabinet discussion, only to be fobbed off with assurances that
Anglo-U.S. decisions are still a long way off - and that Blair does
regularly talk through the Iraqi crisis with colleagues, said the
paper.
With
backbench Labor critics becoming more restless, veteran ex-minister
Gerald Kaufman warns of "substantial resistance" at
Westminster if Blair follows "the most intellectually backward
American president of my lifetime" into the looming conflict.
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| Kaufman warns of "substantial resistance" at Westminster if Blair follows "the most intellectually backward American president of my lifetime" |
Cabinet
ministers, unconvinced by the case the White House is making for a
pre-emptive attack, want a fresh United Nations mandate and for MPs to
be allowed to vote in advance of any attack on Iraq. But, Deputy Prime
Minister John Prescott refused this week to give such a pledge on
Blair's behalf. In reality, he would win it easily with Tory support,
despite the 160 Liberal Democrat and Labor signatures to a warning
Commons motion.
Kaufman's
comments in the Spectator will enhance anti-war concerns, which have
already produced more cautious signals from Downing Street about the
likelihood of conflict.
Blair
has grown sensitive to public skepticism about the wisdom of any
military intervention, said the Guardian, adding that most E.U.
states are even more wary.
Blair
is U.S. President George W. Bush's closest ally in Europe on the Iraq
question, despite opinion polls which clearly suggest that a majority
of Britons do not want British troops to join a U.S.-led strike on
Baghdad.
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| "Who can possibly argue that there is anything moral about killing other people's children?" said Labor MP Alice Mahon, condemning Rice's comments
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Concerns
were fuelled by comments from U.S. President George W. Bush's National
Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, who told BBC radio Thursday that
"there is a very powerful moral case for regime change,"
adding: "We certainly do not have the luxury of doing
nothing."
Her
comments were interpreted by several British newspapers as an attempt
by the U.S. to stiffen British resolve over a war against Iraq, Agence
France-Presse (AFP) reported.
Labor
MP Alice Mahon, who tabled the anti-war motion, condemned Rice's
comments: "Who can possibly argue that there is anything moral
about killing other people's children?
"It
is outrageous that a representative of the United States government,
and a woman, should suggest that there is."
