BRITAIN: British Prime Minister Mr Tony Blair yesterday warned opponents of war in Iraq not to allow the issue to drive a wedge between Europe and the United States.
He rejected suggestions that there was "a rush to war" and said it was wrong to accuse the US of losing patience with the process of winning international support for action against Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.
The credibility of the United Nations would be at stake if it did not enforce its own resolutions requiring Saddam to disarm, he said. But he insisted it was not too late for the Iraqi dictator to save himself by co-operating "proactively" with weapons inspectors.
Mr Blair claimed the anti-war protests, which saw more than one million people take to the streets of London on Saturday, were fuelled in part by anti-Americanism.
Speaking at his regular monthly press conference in 10 Downing Street, he promised that he would listen to marchers' concerns but urged them to listen to the testimony of Iraqi exiles on the horrors of life under Saddam.
While insisting "regime change" in Iraq was not the government's policy, Mr Blair spelt out the moral case for getting rid of Saddam, who led one of the most "barbarous and detestable" tyrannies in history.
Leaving Saddam in power would have massive humanitarian consequences for the people of Iraq, while splitting Europe and America would endanger the security of the whole world, he said.
"People who want to pull Europe and America apart are playing the most dangerous game of international politics I know," warned Mr Blair. "If you set up these rival poles of power, where people are being pulled one way or other, I sincerely believe it is so dangerous for the security of our world."
Mr Blair was speaking as an opinion poll suggested approval for his performance had plummeted because of his backing for US President George Bush, and after weeks in which relations between Washington and European states such as France and Germany have descended, at times, into barely veiled animosity.
But he insisted that he was confident of obtaining a majority in the Security Council for a fresh UN mandate authorising the use of force and suggested that opponents of war, such as France, could still be won over.
Mr Blair insisted that differences among the EU states at Monday's summit boiled down to disagreement about how long Saddam should be given to decide to co-operate with UN inspectors.
He refused to be drawn on a timetable for a new UN resolution, saying only that chief weapons' inspector Dr Hans Blix would report back to the Security Council on February 28th and decisions would be made "over the next few weeks".