Britain and the US continue with war plans today despite UN arms experts saying they want up to a year to complete their inspections in Iraq. British Prime Minister Tony Blair today said Iraq must be "disarmed" with or without UN sanction.
In his weekly press briefing this afternoon, Mr Blair said Iraq's December declaration about its weapons of mass destruction was false and that Britain believed Saddam was rebuilding his weapons capability.
Saddam could disarm peacefully or be disarmed by force, Blair said, adding: "We have complete and total determination to do this".
Despite expressing confidence the UN Security Council would pass a resolution authorising military action if Iraq did not disarm, he also warned opponents of military action within the UN not to impose an "unreasonable or unilateral block" on the use of force.
"Don't be under any doubts whatever. If there is a breach of the UN resolution that we have passed then action will follow," Mr Blair said.
"When the UN has taken a stand on weapons of mass destruction, where they have said to Iraq you have to disarm yourself of these weapons, these chemical, nuclear, biological weapons, are people really saying that if there is a breach of that UN resolution that no action should follow?
"If we did that we would send a message to the outside world which would, in my view be absolutely disastrous for the security of our world."
According to the UN resolution that saw inspections recommence, an attack can only take place if Iraq is shown to have weapons of mass destruction. However, the US and Britain are continuing with plans that suggest an attack is likely within the two months.
The UN inspectors' comments will encourage anti-war sentiment in Europe and the Middle East, buoyed by the Pope's declaration today that war would be a "defeat for humanity".
"What are we to say of the threat of a war which could strike Iraq, the land of the Prophets, a people already sorely tried by more than 12 years of embargo?" "No to war," the Pope declared in a public address today.
But the US and Britain will be hoping the visit of top UN inspectors Mr Hans Blix and Mohamed El-Baradei to Baghdad next weekend to demand Iraq accounts for missing stocks of such items as chemical bombs, nerve gas and missile engines, will prove Saddam Hussein is not co-operating. But Iraq says it can answer any questions the UN team raise.
But the UN experts appear anxious to slow the timetable of inspection. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) spokesman Mr Mark Gwozdecky said in Vienna that UN resolutions allowed for a timescale of "somewhere between six and 12 months" for inspections.
US President George W Bush's spokesman reacted guardedly to the comments. "The president thinks it remains important for the inspectors to do their job and have time to do their job," he said. "The president has not put an exact timetable on it."
But tens of thousands of US troops are already in, or on their way, to the Gulf, and new troop deployments were made over the weekend. Military analysts say any attack on Iraq should be launched within the next two or three winter months, before temperatures in the desert region rise.
But Mr Gwozdecky's comments to CNN indicate ideal war plans could be stymied by the inspectors. "It is a far better option to wait a little bit longer than to have to resort to war," he said.
He also stressed that January 27th, when inspectors are scheduled to report to the UN Security Council on Iraq's compliance with disarmament demands, was not a final deadline.
"There's a little bit of misunderstanding about this January 27 reporting date. The Security Council is asking us to report but not to have all the answers at that point," Mr Gwozdecky said.
Inspectors briefed the Security Council last week on the Iraq inspections. "We heard unanimous support from the council members that they were four-square behind us, and we believe that they're willing to give us the time that we need," he said.
Wire services