Action against Iraq 'difficult'

Bradshaw: 'UN resolution is not necessary'

Military action could be taken against Iraq before a solution has been found to the ongoing crisis in the Middle East, a UK minister has said.

It is in Israel's interest that there is a viable Palestinian state

Ben Bradshaw, foreign office minister

Foreign Office minister Ben Bradshaw was at pains to point out that allied strikes against Saddam Hussein were not imminent.

In fact, the ongoing Israeli/Palestinian conflict made military action less likely - but it could not be ruled out altogether, he said.

Mr Bradshaw was speaking as the Israeli army resumed talks with Palestinians aimed at ending the three-week siege of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem.

International law

He told MPs: "The current state of affairs in Israel/Palestine makes any idea of military action against Iraq, politically in the region, a great deal more difficult."

He said many Arab leaders, "if not in public then in private", would "like to see the back of Saddam Hussein".

But their appetite for a new war with Iraq had been diminished.

'Justified'

Mr Bradshaw agreed that there was not enough evidence linking Iraq with the al-Qaeda terrorist network to justify an attack against Saddam Hussein under international law.

But the key issue remained UN weapons inspectors.

"Saddam needs to comply fully with the demands of the UN to ensure that weapons of mass destruction programme is dismantled," Mr Bradshaw told MPs.

Asked if the UK would consider taking part in military action without a new UN Security Council resolution, he said: "It would depend on the circumstances at the time."

War on terror

He went on: "There are instances where military action is justified without a new United Nations resolution.

"There are others where UN resolution is not necessary but certainly preferable."

He said Iraq had broken the terms of its Gulf War ceasefire agreement by not allowing weapons inspectors back into the country.

All efforts were therefore being concentrated on persuading Iraq to allow inspectors back in - to begin dismantling any weapons of mass destruction.

Mr Bradshaw was giving evidence to the Commons Foreign Affairs select committee on the war against terrorism.

Evidence

He said the UK Government was not yet in a position to publish a detailed dossier on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction programme.

But he said there was a "mountain" of evidence already in the public domain, mainly in UN weapons inspectors' reports from 1998 and 1999.

Intelligence considerations would limit the amount of new information that could be published, he added.

"We will put more evidence in the public domain and we will publish in whatever form we feel necessary ... when we feel the time is right," Mr Bradshaw said.

'Cataclysmic'

The UK Government has also warned Israel's prime minister Ariel Sharon about the consequences of permanently annexing all or part of the West Bank, Mr Bradshaw revealed.

He said such a move was "one of those that we consider when we try to work out exactly what his [Sharon's] strategy might be."

But he stressed: "If that were the strategy, we would say that strategy were cataclysmic - not just for Palestine but also for Israel.

"It is in Israel's interest that there is a viable Palestinian state."

Reconstruction

Mr Bradshaw said Britain would be willing to host an international conference to discuss how to implement a widely-supported peace plan for the Middle East.

It would also consider sending an emissary to the region if it would help defuse the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.

The UK would also be willing to contribute to any humanitarian aid effort in the area.

But it would not pay for large-scale reconstruction of Palestinian areas without a guarantee that they would not be destroyed at a later date.