The Report
of the Iraq Inquiry
February
2003, “despite his best endeavours”, divisions in the international
community
had grown
not reduced:
“The ten
new accession countries [in the EU] came out strongly for the
US
position …
Spain and Italy both supported action. Allies of the US outside
Europe
such as
Japan and South Korea also rallied. So did many of the applicant
countries
for NATO.
Australia gave unstinting and determined support.
“But public
opinion in many traditionally supportive countries, like Turkey
was
strongly
anti. Canada decided they couldn’t support without a new
resolution,
as did Mexico
…
“Basically,
there were nations for whom the American alliance was a
fundamental
part of
their foreign policy. They tended to back the US. Then there were
those
for whom
the alliance was important, but not fundamental. They backed off
…
the dynamics
of disagreement then started to fashion new alliances, with
France,
Germany and
Russia, in particular, moving to create an alternative pole of
power
and
influence.”
“I thought
this was highly damaging; but I also understood it was inevitable.
They
felt as
strongly as I did; and they weren’t prepared to indulge the US, as
they saw
it. They
thought conflict would harm relations between the West and Islam,
and of
course the
more they said this, the more they rather played into that analysis
and
strengthened
it.
“… I agreed
with the basic US analysis of Saddam as a threat; I thought he was
a
monster;
and to break the US partnership in such circumstances, when
America’s
key allies
were all rallying round, would in my view, then (and now) have done
major
long-term
damage to that relationship.
“I had one
last throw of the dice. The problem which sensible opinion had with
it
all was the
feeling that it was a rush to war … the US position was that this
was
all very
well but … they couldn’t simply wait until a diplomatic dance,
which they
had fair
evidence for thinking would be interminable, was played out. Their
position
was:
resolution 1441 was a final chance; if he didn’t take it; if we
give him time, we
just allow
him to mess us around as he has before; he won’t reform; we’re
kidding
ourselves
if we think he will; so let’s go and get the job done.
“The
inspectors’ reports were at best inconclusive, but they certainly
weren’t
evidence of
‘immediate, unconditional and active compliance’. The US
was
champing at
the bit. President Bush was actually losing support by waiting.
The
international
community was split. The party was split. I was between
numerous
rocks and
hard places.
338