3.6 |
Development of UK strategy and options, November 2002 to January
2003
which …
cloud parts of the issue.”52
He referred
to the statement made by Mr Blair in his
interview
with Radio Monte
Carlo on
14 November that if Saddam failed to disarm “the
consequence
is that the weapons will be disarmed by force”.
166.
Mr Hoon
assured the House of Commons that military action would be
a
last
resort. There were “prudent preparations and planning necessary for
military
action”,
but that did “not mean a commitment to take such
action”.
167.
In his speech
closing the debate, Mr Hoon stated:
“Neither
Britain nor the United States is looking for a pretext for military
action, which
is always a
grave step, and which will certainly be a last resort. No member of
the
Government
will risk British lives unnecessarily.”53
168.
In response to
a question from Mr Mohammad Sarwar (Labour), Mr Hoon
added:
“We expect
Saddam Hussein to have the survival instinct … to co‑operate
with
UNMOVIC and
to comply with resolution 1441, but we cannot exclude the
possibility
that he
will fail to do so. Let us not delude ourselves. All our experience
shows that
Saddam
Hussein has only ever complied with the will of the international
community
when
diplomacy has been backed by the credible threat of
force.”
169.
Mr Hoon
stated that continuing with “the prudent preparations and
planning
necessary
for military action” was the “only responsible course”. But that
did “not mean
a
commitment to take such action in any circumstances”. It did mean
that appropriate
steps were
being taken “to ensure that British forces” were “ready”, and that
they had
“the
training, equipment and support” that they would need “to undertake
military action,
should it
prove necessary”.
170.
Addressing the
US request to “a number of countries … seeking support in
the
event that
military action proves necessary”, Mr Hoon
stated:
“Although
no decision has been made to commit UK forces to military
action,
discussions
with the US will continue so that an appropriate British
contribution can
be
identified should it prove necessary.
“… There is
no inevitability about military action. The US is clear about the
fact that
the issue
is Iraqi disarmament …
“Those who
have accused the US of unilateralism should consider carefully.
The
US
Government have followed an impeccably multilateral approach, first
in building
unanimous
Security Council support for resolution 1441 and now in seeking to
build
broad‑based
support for military action should it be required … within the
limits
52
House of
Commons, Official
Report, 25
November 2002, columns 63‑65.
53
House of
Commons, Official
Report, 25
November 2002, columns 122‑129.
33