Bill's Comment Page

War to remove Saddam Hussein's Iraqi regime is now almost inevitable

Tony Blair met today with UN chief weapons inspector Hans Blix and the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency Mohamed ElBaradei in London to discuss the speech made by US Secretary of State Colin Powell to the UN Security Council yesterday.

Both UN officials now accept that the Iraqi regime is not co-operating fully and that its behaviour is deceitful.

According to a report of the meeting carried by the BBC, Mr Blix says that whilst Iraq continued to co-operate on the "process" of the inspections, such as granting access, he noted that the Iraqis were still failing either to present forbidden items to be destroyed or show evidence they had been destroyed already: "I hope at this later hour they will come to a positive response," he said. Mr ElBaradei is quoted as saying that whilst war is not inevitable, there must be "drastic change" in Iraq's co-operation. "The message coming from the Security Council is very clear, that Iraq is not co-operating fully," he said.

The BBC report that Mr Blair and Mr Straw also held talks on Thursday with Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi. The allies are seeking to ensure Iran does nothing to obstruct any future military action against Iraq.

It is true that Mr Powell's speech yesterday did not comprise the same level of 'evidence' as has been presented before to the UN in similar situations, but unless one is pre-disposed to disbelieve everything said by the United States, almost on principle (viz the Syrian Ambassador to the UN, following Mr Powell's speech), it is my view is that it contained very credible circumstantial evidence that the danger posed by Iraq to the region and the wider world is real, imminent (and ongoing) and growing. In a few years time the cost of stopping Saddam Hussein may be considerably greater - the ongoing situation wiith North Korea should be a salutary warning.