Blair gives Saddam 'last chance' to disarm

Telegraph.co.uk ^ | February 25, 2003 | Telegraph.co.uk Staff

[MeekOneGOP]

Blair gives Saddam 'last chance' to disarm
(Filed: 25/02/2003)

Saddam Hussein must provide "100 per cent" compliance with United Nations demands on disarmament if he is to avoid war, Tony Blair has told MPs.

	Tony Blair, flanked by Jack Straw and Gordon Brown, addresses MPs

"This time, Saddam must understand - now is the time for him to decide," the Prime Minister said in a Commons statement.

"Passive rather than active co-operation will not do. Co-operation on process but not on substance will not do.

"Refusal to declare properly and fully what has happened to the unaccounted for weapons of mass destruction will not do."

Facing critics on his own backbenches, Mr Blair said he was prepared to "go the extra step" to disarm Iraq peacefully.

He told MPs: "I do not want war. I do not believe anyone in this House wants war. But disarmament peacefully can only happen with Saddam's active co-operation."

But Mr Blair launched a personal attack on the Iraqi dictator, saying: "I detest his regime, but even now he can save it by complying with the United Nations demands."

Mr Blair added: "Today, the path to peace is clear."

The Prime Minister warned that if UN resolutions continued to be ignored it would damage the credibility of the international community.

The consequences of leaving Saddam in charge of Iraq with his weapons of mass destruction intact would mean that the UN was "tricked again".

"This is not a road to peace but folly and weakness that will only mean the conflict, when it comes, is more bloody, less certain and greater in its devastation," Mr Blair said.

Mr Blair's statement comes a day after Britain, the United States and Spain tabled a new resolution in the UN Security Council.

He said that Britain would not call for a vote on the resolution immediately and that he was keen to give Saddam "one further final chance to disarm voluntarily".

Mr Blair said: "At stake is not just peace or war. It is the authority of the UN. Resolution 1441 is clear. All we are asking is that it now be upheld.

"If it is not, the consequences will stretch far beyond Iraq. If the UN cannot be the way of resolving this issue, that is a dangerous moment for our world.

"That is why in the coming weeks we will work every last minute we can to re-unite the international community and disarm Iraq through the UN. It is our desire and it is still our hope that this can be done."

The Prime Minister was supported in his stance against Saddam by the Tory leader, Iain Duncan Smith.

He said that the Iraqi dictator "is a tyrant who tortures and murders his own people and who poses a threat to the safety and stability of the Middle East".

But Mr Duncan Smith asked a series of detailed questions seeking reassurance that British troops were properly equipped for any conflict and that planning had gone into the shape of a post-war Iraq.

Charles Kennedy, the Liberal Democrat leader, accused Mr Blair and the US of putting down a "pre-emptive" draft resolution and said a Franco-German plan giving weapons inspectors more time was a better way forward.

Mr Blair also faced a several aggressive questions from Labour MPs, many of whom are opposed to war.

After Mr Blair finishes answering MPs questions later this afternoon, he will hold talks with Joschka Fischer, the German foreign minister, and King Abdullah of Jordan.

This morning Mr Blair met Gen Tommy Franks, head of America's central command and the man who will effectively run any war against Iraq.

	24 February 2003: Blair to pledge 'last push for peace'
	23 February 2003: Blair tells Pope: 'Only Saddam can stop the war'
	22 February 2003: Blix's list of key questions could be trigger for war
	18 February 2003: Britain and US prepare final warning on war

[MeekOneGOP]

Tony Blair. Our BEST advocate on the War on Terror on that side of the pond. Thank you, sir !

President George W. Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair of England walk out to address the media in Cross Hall at the White House Nov. 7. "We've got no better friend in the world than Great Britain," said the President during his remarks. White House photo by Paul Morse.

[ConservativeConvert]

This has descended into the lowest depths of absurdity and nonsense. The statements being made on all sides of this fiasco (including our own) have become pure drivel. This venture has lost all momentum and seriousness.

[MeekOneGOP]

Please let me know if you want ON or OFF my United Kingdom ping list!. . .don't be shy.

[jocko12]

O-BOY ANOTHER LAST CHANCE!!!!

[sd-joe]

The picture reminds me of "Men in Black".

[clintonh8r]

This is today's last chance. There'll be another one tomorrow. And the next day. And next week. And next month. And next...

[kjam22]

The real last chance.

Guess the game isn't really over. We've moved into extra innings.

[MeekOneGOP]

Well, I bet when it comes time, Saddam is TOAST ! ...

[MeekOneGOP]

[eclectic]

And another, and another, and another, and another, ...

[Semper Paratus]

This really, really is your last chance, I really mean this time, I'm not kidding buster. Your finished at Faber, I'm calling National to revoke your charter...

[kjam22]

Depends on the meaning of the word "last"?

[clintonh8r]

Hey, W! We're starting to laugh at you, pal. This is NOT GOOD!!!

[Endeavor]

Hey Richard, keep me on your UK list. And thanks for putting me there in the first place. -- E

[MeekOneGOP]

Will do. Thank you ...

[Endeavor]

Look, Blair has a bunch of pantywaistes in his own party breathing down his neck with their Chamberlain-esque views. Bush agreed to this new resolution to support Blair, who has courageously supported us - that's what allies do for each other.

France has covered for Iraq in the Security Council regarding Iraq's use of a french built facility which is now a bioweapons production center. If you doubt it, read Richard Preston's latest work of non-fiction, "The Demon in the Freezer." France is complicit with Iraq on all kinds of sweet oil deals. They will be found out once we go in. They are going to end up looking like the weasels they are once we get to Bagdad.

Blair needs support from us right now. While I'm no friend of the British Labour Party, I do admire Blair for doing the right thing and making a courageous stand with us - he knows the dire consequences of leaving Saddam in Iraq. He is a man of courage - so rare in leaders these days.

[He Rides A White Horse]

Bush agreed to this new resolution to support Blair, who has courageously supported us - that's what allies do for each other.

Just as France has demonstrated what weasels do to their allies. They don't support them.

[Mr. Mojo]

Look, Blair has a bunch of pantywaistes in his own party breathing down his neck with their Chamberlain-esque views. Bush agreed to this new resolution to support Blair, who has courageously supported us - that's what allies do for each other.

I realize that. But the paintywaists/Chamberlains over there already voted on and approved a tough new resolution on Saddam's regime. It's number is 1441. If they didn't really, really, really mean to sign it, they shouldn't have done so. This need for a new resolution is 100% bullsh/t, and it's causing Dubya's approval numbers to plummet. If Saddam is still in power by the end of April, be prepared to say hello to a Democrat in the WH in '04.

[Endeavor]

This resolution was strictly for the purpose of shoring up Blair's support in Britain, not giving the imbeciles at the UN another last chance to be more than a wealth redistribution society.

[Mr. Mojo]

Perhaps, but I think this 18th resolution won't do much (if anything) to change the minds of the Labourites in Britain who have been against taking out Saddam's regime from the git-go. The support Blair has at this moment will be all the support he'll be getting, imo.