3.4 |
Development of UK strategy and options, late July to 14 September
2002
245.
In his press
conference, which lasted 90 minutes, Mr Blair
stated:
“… I think
I would be right in saying that many of your questions will be on
Iraq …
I sense
that some of you believe we have taken all the key decisions but
just haven’t
got round
to telling you. That isn’t the case … We, at every level of
government,
have been
and remain in close dialogue with the United States of America
about this
issue and
where we are in absolute agreement is that Iraq poses a real and
unique
threat to
the security of the region and the rest of the world. But Saddam
Hussein
is
continuing in his efforts to develop weapons of mass destruction …
We have to
face up
to it, we have to deal with it and will. The issue is then what is
the best way
246.
Mr Blair
emphasised the importance of the “broadest possible basis of
support”;
and that
“because this is a problem for the world … the United Nations has
to be the
route to
deal with this problem, not a way of people avoiding dealing with
this problem”.
247.
Explaining his
support for the US, Mr Blair stated: “For a long period of
time we
have done
our best to contain that threat, though it is increasingly
difficult to do without
inspectors
being back in there with a proper regime on the ground which alters
the
way the
[Iraqi] regime behaves.” The US was “right” to raise the issue and
supporting
them was
not a question of “misplaced allegiance or blind loyalty”; it was
the “right
thing to
do”.
248.
Mr Blair
stated that the policy of containment of Saddam Hussein had “worked
up
to a point,
but there is a point beyond which it hasn’t worked because the
inspectors
aren’t in,
we don’t really know what is happening now”.
249.
Mr Blair
said: “I think I am right in saying that a couple of years ago we
reckoned
there was
somewhere in the region of $1.8 billion of illicit money coming to
the Iraqi
regime, we
think it is probably $3 billion … now”.
250.
Mr Blair
also drew attention to Saddam Hussein’s human rights record and
the
“thousands
… of refugees flooding across Europe”.
251.
Referring to
US concerns about Saddam Hussein’s past record of
obstructing
inspections
and the need to follow through on any resolution, Mr Blair
concluded:
“… is there
a threat we can simply turn a blind eye to, despite the breach of
all the
UN
resolutions. If the answer to that is no, we have to deal with it,
then let’s work
out the
right way of dealing with it. But it is perfectly understandable if
in the light of
previous
experience, that people will look with a very sceptical eye as to
whether
any regime
could be successful, but that is not to dismiss it.”
252.
A number of
questioners pointed out that public opinion had moved against
the
idea of a
strike against Iraq “partly because people feel that there hasn’t
been much
84
The
National Archives, 3 September 2002, PM press
conference [at
Sedgefield].
137