As he prepared to fly out for a crucial summit with US
President George Bush at Camp David this weekend, the Prime Minister
heightened speculation that war was all but inevitable by going further
than ever before in connecting Saddam Hussein's regime with Osama bin
Laden's terrorist network.
The claim came after President Bush prepared the US for war with a State
of the Union address which made clear that the US would go it alone
against Iraq if necessary and which also linked Al-Qaida to Iraq.
Mr Bush also sought to win over reluctant allies by announcing that the
US would make available damning new evidence against the Iraqi dictator
at a February 5 UN Security Council meeting.
And in the Commons yesterday, amid heckling from anti-war MPs led by
Halifax's Alice Mahon, Mr Blair signalled his determination to carry the
war on terrorism to wherever was necessary.
"After we deal with Iraq, we do, yes, through the UN, have to
confront North Korea about its weapons programme," Mr Blair
declared at Prime Minister's Questions.
And after a cry of "when do we stop" from another MP, the
Prime Minister declared: "We stop when the threat to our security
is properly and fully dealt with."
Mrs Mahon, who sparked Mr Blair's impassioned response by shouting
"who's next?" after Iraq, last night accused the Prime
Minister of "an astonishing statement".
"Are we now in for a 100 years' war?" asked the Halifax MP
while Alex Salmond – Westminster leader of the Scottish National Party
leader – branded Mr Blair's comments as "deeply worrying".
But ahead of the Prime Minister's departure for the summit, attention
yesterday also focused on Mr Blair's claim of evidence of links between
Al- Qaida and Iraq.
Mr Blair acknowledged that the full extent of the connections was still
unclear, and that the Government had seen no evidence to link the Iraqi
regime to the September 11 terror attacks.
Nevertheless, his reply to Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith that "We
do know of links between Al- Qaida and Iraq" surprised many
listeners as Ministers have been wary of drawing connections between the
two, speaking only of "loose links".
And last week, Mr Blair told the Commons liaison committee that "I
know of nothing linking Iraq to the September 11 attack and I know of
nothing either that directly links Al-Qaida and Iraq to recent events in
the UK".
But his stronger claims yesterday echoed a warning Mr Bush's own State
of the Union allegation a few hours earlier.
However, direct links to Saddam's regime have been difficult to
establish.
But given the failure by UN inspectors to uncover a "smoking
gun" in their search for Saddam's alleged weapons of mass
destruction, President Bush and Mr Blair's latest comments are likely to
be seen by sceptics as Washington and London trying to open up a second
front in their efforts to justify possible military action.
Last night Mr Blair met the Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi at Downing
Street. The two leaders discussed international issues, including Iraq,
for 75 minutes.
n Labour MPs Kevin McNamara (Hull North) and Christine McCafferty
(Calder Valley) last night signed a motion to be put to the
Parliamentary Labour Party calling for UN weapons inspectors to be given
more time.
