Saddam must be stopped - Blair (PM SAYS: IT'S WAR)

UK Prime Minister Tony Blair has told his cabinet that the policy of "containing" Saddam Hussein has failed and that the Iraqi dictator must be stopped.

Mr Blair told ministers that Iraq had continued to build weapons of mass destruction, as he held talks ahead of Tuesday's emergency recall of Parliament.

In a two-hour cabinet session, the prime minister briefed fellow ministers about the dossier of evidence against Iraq which will be unveiled on Tuesday morning.

Some ministers have publicly expressed concern about possible military action, but Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said the cabinet was clear about the need to be "resolute and firm" on dealing with Iraq.

In seeking a "peaceful resolution" of the threat posed by Iraq, the international community had to give Saddam Hussein a "clear choice" and Iraq should know the consequences of failing to disarm, Mr Straw said.

The meeting came as rebel Labour backbenchers prepared to try to table an emergency motion when MPs return to Westminster.

Tam Dalyell, the longest serving Labour MP, plans to press the Commons speaker for a vote on a specific motion opposing war on Iraq unless authorised by the UN Security Council and a vote of MPs.

Dalyell is second only to George Galloway in being a "buttboy" for Saddam - Ivan

A draft United Nations resolution will be tabled "within days" to set out what Iraq needs to do to comply with international weapons inspections, says Downing Street.

But the US and UK will need to overcome resistance to a fresh resolution from other UN Security Council members.

Mr Blair told cabinet ministers on Monday evening: "The truth is the policy of containment has not worked.

"He [Saddam] has been able to make progress in his weapons of mass destruction programme and has to be stopped."

Downing Street said the prime minister had said the issue was not "historic leftovers, but an ongoing, continuing programme".

Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz earlier said new weapons inspections would prove such claims "inaccurate".

Plans for a war with Iraq were not being discussed the cabinet meeting, the first in two months, Downing Street added.

Mr Blair said the government's 55-page dossier on Iraq would show the "real and serious problem" of its weapons programmes had got worse since UN inspectors left the country in 1998.

The dossier, which coincides with the emergency recall of Parliament, will be available on the Downing Street website from 0800 BST (0700 GMT).

Downing Street says it will "nail the lie that they (Iraq) have no weapons of mass destruction".

Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith said the dossier would contain "some of the most graphic pictures" of what Saddam Hussein had done to his own people with chemical and biological weapons.

The prime minister's spokesman insisted there would be "no gagging order" preventing ministers from speaking out on Iraq.

Ahead of the cabinet meeting, Mr Blair held one-to-one sessions with ministers thought to be concerned about possible military action.

Those included Environment Secretary Margaret Beckett and International Development Secretary Clare Short.

Ms Short has said she thinks it would be wrong to have another Gulf War and to make the ordinary people of Iraq suffer.

Leaving the cabinet meeting, Ms Short told reporters: "We had a good discussion. We all agreed."

In a weekend newspaper interview, Commons Leader and former Foreign Secretary Robin Cook said military action must have the full authority of the UN.

He said it should also be limited to removing weapons of mass destruction, rather than at regime change.

Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott also met Mr Blair separately - he is seen as a crucial figure in winning over Labour Party opinion.

A number of Labour MPs are expected to vote against the government on Tuesday, although there will be no "substantive" motion.

Islington North MP Jeremy Corbyn said he was opposed to war because it would not help the Iraqi people and it was the "wrong" thing to do.

Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy told delegates at his party's conference in Brighton that all diplomatic and political avenues must be explored before military action was considered.

He asked: "Am I alone in worrying about the undermining of the moral, legal and practical authority of the United Nations? I think not."

Well that's that then. We're gearing up for war..
Yep.

Al Gore looks particularly foolish, and the dossier tomorrow is going to confirm his idiocy.

I heard bits of his speech today at teh Commonwealth Club in San Fcancisco, Calif. Don't know if he is leading the attack by the dims or just speaking his own (also rather dim) mind. The story goes like this: We can't attack Iraq without first resolving the terror war with al-queda and OBL. Guess the goron didn't get the memo -- OBL is dead, dead, dead! And he couldn't be any more dead. And, the USA has more than enough resources to tackle Saddam and al-queda simultaneously. These leftwingers just drive me to spit with their constant wining and sniveling. They spend so much of their time trying to revise history to suit their twisted agenda that they completely lose sight of history. Even recent history -- the "quagmire" that Afghanistan was going to be, for example. Message to Gore: "You were BENCHED in 2000. On the bench you sit down and shut your pie-hole!"

Cabinet backs Blair on Iraq

By Andrew Grice Political Editor
24 September 2002

Tony Blair quelled a cabinet revolt over Iraq yesterday by promising his ministers he would pursue fully a United Nations solution to the crisis before resorting to military action.

At the Cabinet's first meeting for two months, the Prime Minister stressed his priority was to secure the widest possible support for a new UN resolution, due to be published tomorrow, allowing an "intrusive" regime of weapons inspections in Iraq.

But Mr Blair told his ministers that tough action must be taken against Saddam Hussein. He said: "The truth is the policy of containment has not worked. He [President Saddam] has been able to make progress in his weapons of mass destruction programme and has to be stopped."

Several cabinet ministers stressed the need to give the Middle East peace process a higher profile in order to allay fears in the Arab world –- a point accepted by Mr Blair.

The Cabinet's debate on Iraq, due to last an hour, lasted for more than an hour and a half. Downing Street described it as "a serious and hard-headed discussion".

Official sources insisted that no minister spoke out against military action if the UN process failed to resolve the crisis. Clare Short, the Secretary of State for International Development, who publicly opposed a "second Gulf War" on Sunday, said: "We had a good discussion. We all agreed."

Although Mr Blair's allies are confident of avoiding resignations over Iraq, one minister said: "We have not reached crunch time – yet."

Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary, said after the meeting that it would be "far better" for the Iraq crisis to be resolved peacefully, but he warned that military action might be needed.

Mr Blair outlined to his ministers the contents of the 50-page dossier on the threat from Iraq, to be published this morning, which he said showed that the "real and serious problem" of Iraq's weapons programme had grown worse in since 1998.

Mr Blair will stress his commitment to the "UN route" in an attempt to defuse a Labour rebellion in today's emergency debate on Iraq in the Commons. However, several Labour MPs warned that remarks by President George Bush showed he was determined to declare war. Mr Bush said: "If the UN will not deal with Saddam Hussein, the US and our friends will."

Writing in The Independent today, Tam Dalyell, the longest-serving MP, said: "It seems to me that Bush and Blair are doing everything they can to avoid peace. That is why I am in favour of regime change – in No 10 Downing Street."

Mr Blair will also face tough questions on Iraq at a meeting of Labour's national executive committee today. But Labour chiefs have blocked a vote on a motion opposing military action tabled by the left-winger Mark Seddon. Mr Seddon said: "It makes a charade of democracy. The Baathist party [in Iraq] operates on similar principles."

The Prime Minister was irritated by criticism at the weekend from Robin Cook, the Leader of the Commons, who renewed his call for a Commons vote on military action. Although Mr Blair's spokesman said ministers would not be "gagged", one cabinet minister said: "Robin is playing his usual games. People are getting fed up with it." Mr Blair is more tolerant of criticism by Ms Short, the other leading cabinet "dove", whom he met for a "clear the air" session before yesterday's meeting.

. The story goes like this: We can't attack Iraq without first resolving the terror war with al-queda and OBL. Guess the goron didn't get the memo -- OBL is dead, dead, dead! And he couldn't be any more dead. And, the USA has more than enough resources to tackle Saddam and al-queda simultaneously. These leftwingers just drive me to spit with their constant wining and sniveling

It's a totally stupid and unconvincing argument, and here's why. First, coming from Goron it's even worse, because we all know there's nothing he won't do to seek personal political advantage(no matter how inept he is at it.) Second, I don't know what our military can and can't do operationally, but Gore forces me to choose between his expertise, and that of Donald Rumsfeld, General Franks, and the entire high command of the US Armed Forces. Hmmmm, let me think about that and I'll get back to you. No one with any sense will take Gore's word for it. They will believe the Administration.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.