3.4 |
Development of UK strategy and options, late July to 14 September
2002
388.
President Bush
stated that it was “an important meeting” with “an important
ally”
and friend.
They were going to talk about how to keep the peace, the threats
faced by
the world
and how to promote freedom.125
389.
Mr Blair
was more direct, stating that they would be “discussing the issues
that are
preoccupying
us”, and adding:
“The point
I would emphasise … is the threat from Saddam Hussein and
weapons
of mass
destruction, chemical, biological, potentially nuclear weapons
capability,
that threat
is real. We only need to look at the report from the International
Atomic
Agency
[sic] this morning126
showing
what has been going on at the former nuclear
site to
realise that. And the policy of inaction is not a policy we can
responsibly
subscribe
to. So the purpose of our discussion today is to work out the right
strategy
for dealing
with this, because deal with it we must.”
390.
In response to
a question, Mr Blair emphasised concern about Iraq’s attempts
to
develop
nuclear weapons and the importance of the IAEA report he had
mentioned,
which
showed there was “a real issue that has to be tackled here”. He
stated that, on the
way to Camp
David, he had been reading “the catalogue of attempts by Iraq to
conceal
its weapons
of mass destruction, not to tell the truth … over a period of
years”.
391.
President Bush
said that Saddam Hussein had:
“… said he
was going to get rid of weapons of mass destruction. And for 11
long
years, he
has not fulfilled his promise. And we are going to talk about what
to do
about it.
We owe it to future generations to deal with this problem, and
that’s what
these
discussions are all about.”
392.
Asked about
international support, Mr Blair replied that:
“… people
were asking perfectly reasonable questions … but the one thing no
one
can deny is
that Saddam Hussein is in breach of the United Nations
resolutions
on weapons
of mass destruction … that that poses a threat not just to the
region,
because
there is no way, if those weapons are used, that the threat would
simply
stay in the
region.
“People
understand that. Now we have got to make sure that we work out a
way
forward
that, of course, mobilises the maximum support, but does so on the
basis
of removing
a threat that the United Nations itself has determined is a threat
to the
whole
world.”
125
The White
House, 7 September 2002, President
Bush, Prime Minister Blair Discuss Keeping the
Peace.
126
The IAEA
issued a press release (IAEA Press Release 2002/11) on 6 September
2002 stating: “With
reference
to an article published today in the New York Times, the
International Atomic Energy Agency
would like
to state that it has no new information on Iraq’s nuclear weapons
programme since 1998 when
its
inspectors left Iraq. Only through a resumption of inspection … can
the Agency draw any conclusion
with regard
to Iraq’s compliance with its obligations … relating to its nuclear
activities.”
161