The following is an archived copy of a message sent to a Discussion List run by the Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq.
Views expressed in this archived message are those of the author, not of the Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq.
[Main archive index/search] [List information] [Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq Homepage]
Publisher: Jang.com Posted: 2002-07-29 WASHINGTON: Dialogue is the best course to take with Iraq, Jordanian King Abdullah II told CNN television ahead of a meeting here with US President George W. Bush. "In Jordan that we have always believed that dialogue with Iraq is the only option," the monarch said amid widespread speculation about a US effort to remove Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. "And when I say 'Jordan,' I also can speak probably on behalf of anybody else in the international community, from China to Russia to all our colleagues in the European Union." "We have always felt that dialogue is the best way of dealing with Iraq, trying to bring Iraq back into the international community, that we've always been concerned that the use of force might create tremendous instability in the Middle East, especially in the light that the movement on the Israeli-Palestinian front is not moving the way that we want," he added. The monarch added that there had been no discussion with the United States of the possibility of deploying US troops in Jordan in the event of an attack on Iraq. "That has not happened and, I don't think, will ever happen," he said. "We got an apology from some ... American official that -- the way he described it to me is, 'Some young officer in the American Pentagon probably tried to impress a girlfriend, wanted to come up with a story that there was something that he knew about and referenced Jordan.' But we have no American troops in Jordan, at this stage," the king added. The United States has invited six Iraqi opposition leaders to Washington for talks on the country's future in a meeting either on August 9 or 16. Washington has repeatedly threatened to take military action against Iraq and unseat Saddam Hussein, whom it accuses of developing weapons of mass destruction. The prospect of a US military offensive was further heightened after July 4 to 5 talks between Baghdad and the United Nations on the return of UN arms inspectors to Iraq broke down. UN chief Kofi Annan signaled last Tuesday he might not resume talks with Iraq unless it showed willingness to readmit the inspectors. Blair won't give parliament vote on Iraq: minister: British Prime Minister Tony Blair will not tie his hands by offering parliament a vote on possible military action against Iraq, a minister said on Sunday. Ben Bradshaw, deputy leader of the House of Commons, said Blair would consult parliamentarians -- many of whom have urged him not to back any US strike against President Saddam Hussein -- but would not give them a veto. "No prime minister in British history has ever allowed their hands to be tied like that and none would," Bradshaw told Sky News television. "It is not realistic that a prime minister is going to have to seek a vote before he or she deploys forces." Blair, who has stood staunchly behind US President George W. Bush since the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington, has warned that the world must tackle Saddam's refusal to let United Nations weapons inspectors back into Iraq. But he faces growing dissent from left-wingers in his centre-left Labour government who have demanded a fresh U.N. resolution and the chance for British politicians to have a say before any troops are committed to an attack. At a news conference last week Blair refused to commit to a parliamentary vote and said an attack was not imminent. Bradshaw said international efforts should focus on getting the inspectors -- charged with overseeing the dismantling of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction -- back to Baghdad. But if the attempts failed, the world must respond, he said. "It is simply unrealistic to put our heads in the sand and think that if the U.N. inspectors don't go in that we can simply ignore that threat," he said. Bradshaw was speaking afer a poll published on Sunday suggested more than half of Britons would oppose the deployment of British troops in a US-led military campaign against Iraq. The survey of 1,763 people published in the Sunday Times showed that 51 percent do not want to see British troops used, while 40 percent would support that. © 2002 [Jang.com]. - - - - Blessed is he who expects nothing, for he shall never be disappointed -- __________________________________________________________ Sign-up for your own FREE Personalized E-mail at Mail.com http://www.mail.com/?sr=signup Get 4 DVDs for $.49 cents! plus shipping & processing. Click to join. http://adfarm.mediaplex.com/ad/ck/990-1736-3566-59 _______________________________________________ Sent via the discussion list of the Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq. To unsubscribe, visit http://lists.casi.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/casi-discuss To contact the list manager, email casi-discuss-admin@lists.casi.org.uk All postings are archived on CASI's website: http://www.casi.org.uk