BRITAIN: The British Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, seems set to defy mounting party and public opposition to British support for a US-led action against Iraq.
In a statement this afternoon, Mr Blair is expected to explain why Britain cannot "walk away" from the issue of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction. He will present his case, not simply as an ally of the United States, but in terms of Britain's own national interest.
While again repeating his government's desire to see UN weapons inspectors readmitted to Iraq, Mr Blair is not expected to concede the need for a fresh UN mandate for military action in the event of Iraqi non-compliance.
ICM's latest poll yesterday showed a massive 71 per cent of Britons against joining any invasion of Iraq without prior UN approval. However, while the Prime Minister clearly wants the UN to be part of any solution of the Iraqi crisis, there are clear indications that he does not intend the UN "process" to be the means of "long-fingering" the issue.
Sources played down expectations of any significant new policy developments when Mr Blair faces the cameras in his Sedgefield constituency this afternoon. The Prime Minister, they said, would expand on his previously stated view that inaction over Iraq was "not an option" and explain in detail "why cannot duck this issue or simply walk away".
If Mr Blair is to turn British public opinion, it seems that explanation will not come a moment too soon.
Yesterday's poll for GMTV and the Daily Mirror suggested opinion against war was up by a dramatic 20 per cent in just a week. Remarkably, 51 per cent of those polled named President Bush a threat to world peace only after Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein.
In a further jolt for Downing Street, nearly two out of five polled described Mr Blair as President Bush's "poodle".
Nearly 60 per cent of Americans support military action to oust Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, but a majority of those believe the US should win international backing first, according to a new poll. The Los Angeles Times poll showed an even larger majority, 64 per cent, supported a ground attack on Iraq if President George Bush decided to launch one. Twenty-eight per cent opposed it. Of the 59 per cent of Americans who favoured military action, 61 per cent said it should be contingent on the support of the international community.
The poll found 29 per cent of Americans opposed any US military action against Iraq and 12 per cent were unsure.
It followed two polls published on Friday, in Newsweek and Time magazines, that showed similar figures for those in favour of an attack but significantly less support - 51 per cent and 49 per cent - for a ground war.