Israel: David Horovitz
Bombarded with 36 Scud missiles in the Gulf War, and traumatised by the various intermittent flare-ups ever since, Israel has good reason to take a personal interest in the new military onslaught. But if there is concern here of an escalation that may yet see Israel involved again, there is no panic.
Senior Israeli ministers took a break from contemplating the imminent collapse of their government to meet and issue a statement characterising the probability of Iraqi attack as low, but warning that Israel would know how to defend itself if necessary. Some US officials "may have got the wrong impression from the lovefest in Gaza the other day as to where the hearts of most Palestinians really lie", observed Israel's Ambassador to the US, Mr Zalman Shoval. "The United States has only one real friend in this region: Israel."
France: Lara Marlowe
PARIS did not condemn the US attacks on Iraq, but its response was the coldest, most non-committal by a western European ally. "France deplores the chain of events which led to US military strikes against Iraq and the grave human consequences they could have for the Iraqi people," a joint statement by the President's and Prime Minister's offices said, going on to regret the lack of "full co-operation" by the Iraqi leadership.
Throughout the saga of Iraqi obstinacy and US threats, France has argued that military strikes are counter-productive because they harm innocent people and could make it impossible for UNSCOM to work in the future.
All major French newspapers yesterday blamed the US for failing to think beyond military strikes, and for creating an uncertain future. Washington's disregard for the United Nations - claiming to enforce resolutions while launching cruise missiles before UN ambassadors even had a chance to discuss the crisis - enraged many.
Russia: Patrick Worsnip
Russia's leaders angrily denounced US and British missile strikes against Iraq and a wave of anti-American anger erupted in the nation's parliament.
President Boris Yeltsin said the strikes "crudely violated" the United Nations charter and he called for them to be halted immediately.
The State Duma (lower house of parliament) cancelled other business to discuss Iraq and the opposition Communist leader, Mr Gennady Zyuganov, whose party is the biggest in the chamber, said the 1999 budget should now be revised to increase defence spending.
Some officials called into question the chances of the Duma ratifying the US-Russian START-2 strategic arms accord. --(Reuters)
Germany: Denis Staunton
The German chancellor, Mr Gerhard Schroder, supported the attack on Iraq launched by the US and Britain, blaming President Saddam for precipitating the crisis. But the Foreign Minister, Mr Joschka Fischer, was more muted in his support, expressing regret that the air strikes had taken place.
Mr Schroder, who was not given details of the attack in advance, said that the US-led military action was a direct consequence of Saddam's obstinate refusal to co-operate with United Nations weapons inspectors.
Mr Schroder's comments were echoed by his Defence Minister, Mr Rudolf Scharping, who said that the US and Britain had no choice but to act.
South Asia: Conor O'Clery
The US-led air strike against Iraq has produced an accelerated cooling in Sino-US relations, with China yesterday expressing itself "deeply shocked" at the use of military force. Japan, the US's closest ally in Asia, expressed "clear support for the attack". Elsewhere reaction was predictable, with Malaysia's prime minister, Dr Mahathir Mohamad, accusing the US administration of being too ready to rocket innocent people. The practical concern of most Asian countries was the safety of their nationals.
The most severe criticism of the US action came in a briefing for reporters by the Chinese Foreign Ministry in Beijing, whose spokesman, Mr Sun Yuxi, said: "The United States used armed force unilaterally without authority from the United Nations, in violation of the United Nations Charter and the norms of international law. We condemn it and urge the US to stop all military action against Iraq immediately."