Officials say Bush "not yet" planning Iraq Attack

10/04/2002| IslamWeb

RAWFORD, Texas

The Bush administration said on Sunday it was not yet planning a military campaign against Iraq but was looking at nonmilitary options, including revised sanctions, to pressure Saddam Hussein to admit weapons' inspectors.President George W. Bush has said "all options are on the table" to neutralise the threat Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein could pose with weapons of mass destruction. But he has yet to persuade key allies on the need for a military strike on Baghdad.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who visited Bush at his Texas ranch for talks on the Mideast conflict and Iraq, on Sunday gave the strongest signal yet that he would, "if necessary", back U.S.-led military action against Saddam.

"We must be prepared to act where terrorism or weapons of mass destruction threaten us," Blair he told an audience at the George Bush Presidential Library in College Station, after leaving the younger Bush's ranch.

During his talks with the U.S. president, Blair told a news conference he was sure Saddam was developing weapons of mass destruction and had no doubt the Iraqi leader would use them against his enemies without hesitation.

"If necessary the action should be military and again, if necessary and justified, it should involve regime change," Blair said.

The British prime minister, however, faces stiff resistance from his partners in the European Union and at home if he backs any U.S. plan to launch a military offensive against Baghdad.

[photo image: George W. Bush, archiv