3.6 |
Development of UK strategy and options, November 2002 to January
2003
107.
The statement
on Iraq issued after the Summit said that the 19 Heads of State
and
Government
had:
“…
expressed our serious concern about terrorism and the proliferation
of weapons
of mass
destruction.
“Concerning
Iraq, we pledge our full support for the implementation of …
resolution
1441 and
call on Iraq to comply fully and immediately with this and all
relevant UN
Security
Council resolutions.
“We deplore
Iraq’s failure to comply fully with its obligations, which were
imposed
as a
necessary step to restore international peace and security and we
recall the
Security
Council has decided in its resolution to afford Iraq a final
opportunity to
comply
…
“NATO
Allies stand united in their commitment to take effective action to
assist
and support
the efforts of the UN to ensure full and immediate compliance by
Iraq,
without
conditions or restriction, with UNSCR 1441. We recall that the
Security
Council in
this resolution has warned Iraq that it will face serious
consequences
as a result
of its continued violation of its obligations.”34
108.
In his
statement to Parliament on 25 November, Mr Blair described the
Summit
as “a
profound demonstration of unity in the face of the new threats that
confront us”.35
“Every
nation” had spoken of “the menace of international terrorism and
weapons of
mass
destruction”. The Summit statement was “a remarkable statement of
defiance”
which had
“rightly” linked terrorism and weapons of mass destruction.
The threat from
WMD “in the
hands of rogue unstable states” was:
“… not part
of some different danger …
“The
strength of the … statement on Iraq was testimony to that belief.
There was
complete
unanimity … that the choice for war or peace lies with Saddam, and
that
if he
breaches the will of the United Nations, the United Nations will
have to act.
There was
strong support for multilateralism and for the decision of
President Bush
to go
through the UN, but equally strong insistence that multilateralism
and the UN
be seen to
work.
“Some of
the most powerful expressions of these sentiments … came not from
the
old but
from the new members of the NATO Alliance.”
109.
Mr Blair
concluded that the “ultimate message” from the Summit was that “if
we
care about
these values of freedom, the rule of law and democracy, we should
not flinch
from the
fight in defending them”; and that “Britain” would “defend them
with courage
and
certainty”.
34
NATO Press
Release, 21 November 2002, Prague
Summit Statement on Iraq.
35
House of
Commons, Official
Report, 25
November 2002, columns 36‑44.
23