The Hindu : Britain's rift with allies widens

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Feb 12, 2003

International

International

Britain's rift with allies widens

By Hasan Suroor

LONDON FEB. 11. Britain was today caught in a diplomatic crossfire between its European allies and Washington over Iraq amid signs of its increasing isolation in Europe at the same time as the Prime Minister, Tony Blair's ratings at home plummeted to its lowest level because of his unconditional support for U.S.-led military action against Iraq.

A new opinion poll in The Times indicated a disturbing shift in voting intentions which, the newspaper said, underlined Mr Blair's "vulnerability'' over Iraq. But there was no let-up in the Government's aggressive stance as the Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw, publicly rejected the French and German proposals to defuse the Iraqi crisis by allowing the U.N. weapons inspectors more time and increasing their strength to make the inspection regime more effective.

In what was seen as a "calculated rebuff'' to Paris and Berlin, Mr. Straw questioned the logic of their proposals saying "even a thousand-fold increase'' in the inspection regime would not help in the absence of Iraqi cooperation.

``If he (Saddam Hussein) maintains his refusal to cooperate, how will higher numbers help?'' he said in a speech at the International Institute of Strategic Studies in London.

His remarks were seen as underlining the extent to which Britain had broken ranks with the "mainstream'' Europe, putting a question mark over Mr Blair's vision of acting as a "bridge'' between Europe and America. Officials, however, defended the British position and pointed to the fact that eight European countries recently signed a joint letter backing Mr Blair's pro-U.S. stand.

They also recalled Mr Blair's relaxed meeting with the French President, Jacques Chirac, last week leading to agreement on closer defence cooperation.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

International

Stories in this Section

Britain's rift with allies widens

Problem surmountable: Turkey

U.S. firm on new resolution

ISS: important role for Russia

Israel remains closed to Palestinians

Call to lift curbs on Zimbabwe

India indulging in 'cynical' diplomacy: Pak.

Solana holds talks in Seoul over n-crisis

Setback to Musharraf-Jamali Govt.

Osama in partnership with Iraq: Powell

Jamali to visit Iran on peace mission

Refrain from rhetoric, U.S. tells India, Pak.