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| Sunday, 16 February 2003 |
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Unilateral war more likely after Blix report: British press LONDON, Feb 15 (AFP) - The likelihood of a unilateral war against Iraq significantly increased after chief UN weapons inspector Hans Blix said Baghdad was showing greater cooperation, Britain's press agreed Saturday. It added that with a second UN resolution now unlikely, Tony Blair's future as Britain's prime minister will come under severe threat should he decide to back US military action without the support of either the Security Council or the British public. "Hans Blix has kicked away the stool supporting the already wobbly US-British case for war against Iraq," concluded The Guardian, a day after Blix told the UN Security Council that Baghdad was cooperating more with inspectors tasked with seeking out its alleged weapons of mass destruction. "It (Blix's report) considerably increases the chances that the US will act unilaterally, dragging Britain in its wake. It sharply diminishes the prospect of UN backing for a second resolution authorising military action...," added the left-of-centre broadsheet in its editorial. The right-wing Daily Mail tabloid agreed with The Guardian that Blair was now left to face a "nightmare" situation. With the majority of Britons opposed to a war without UN backing, Blair risks "political destruction" should he support unilateral military action by the United States, The Guardian warned. "Blixed!", read the headline splashed across the Daily Mail's front page. "UN weapons inspector rebuts (US President George W.) Bush, devastates Blair, widens the rift with Europe ... and boosts the growing army of war protesters descending on London today," added its sub headline. Opponents of a looming war against Iraq were expecting more than 500,000 people to turn out Saturday for a London march which they hoped would be Britain's largest protest in recent times. "Dr Blix's report not only slowed the pace towards war, but also left Tony Blair facing the biggest challenge of his leadership," said The Times under the front page headline "Trench warfare over Iraq's destiny". The Daily Telegraph, which like The Times is a right-wing broadsheet, said Blix's findings made the "task of steering a second resolution through the Security Council that much harder". |
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