- WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Defense
Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on Tuesday left open the possibility the United
States might invade Iraq without the help of British forces, then quickly
backtracked to quell the firestorm his remarks touched off.
-
- Pressed by reporters at a news briefing on whether Washington
might go ahead without British military help because of rising political
pressure on Prime Minister Tony Blair, Rumsfeld said it would be a decision
for President Bush to make.
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- "I think until we know what the (U.N.) resolution
is, we won't know the answer as to what their role will be," Rumsfeld
said.
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- "And to the extent they are able to participate
-- in the event that the president decides to use force -- that would obviously
be welcomed. To the extent they're not, there are work-arounds and they
would not be involved, at least in that phase..."
-
- "That is an issue that the president will be addressing
in the days ahead, one would assume," he said in comments that one
U.S. defense official said later caused "a firestorm" of reaction
from British officials.
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- And, four hours later, Rumsfeld issued a terse two-paragraph
written statement expressing confidence that the forces of America's most
prominent ally would be side-by-side with U.S. troops should an attack
take place.
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- "In the event that a decision to use force is made,
we have every reason to believe there will be a significant military contribution
from the United Kingdom," he said.
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- 'NO DOUBT OF FULL SUPPORT'
-
- "I have no doubt of the full support of the United
Kingdom for the international community's efforts to disarm Iraq. In my
press briefing today, I was simply pointing out that obtaining a second
United Nations Security Council Resolution is important to the United Kingdom
and that we are working to achieve it."
-
- In London, a spokeswoman for British Prime Minister Tony
Blair's office shrugged off the original remarks and said there had been
several phone calls with Rumsfeld's staff, but could not say when.
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- "Nothing has changed. We are working to get a second
resolution. We are not yet at the stage of military action. Throughout
there has been complete cooperation between the UK and the U.S. on military
planning," she told Reuters.
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- The United States and Britain have more than 250,000
troops gathered in the Gulf region around Iraq, but British Prime Minister
Tony Blair has come under mounting anti-war pressure at home.
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- A U.S decision to go it alone would be slap in the face
for the beleaguered Blair who has gone out on a limb and sparked a revolt
in his own Labour Party to support Bush in his hawkish stance on Iraq.
-
- Rumsfeld was asked at the Pentagon briefing by reporters
whether the United States, with about 225,000 of its troops already in
the Gulf region and thousands more on the way, might go ahead without Britain
or whether Britain might scale back its participation.
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- "This is a matter that most of the senior officials
in the government discuss with the UK on a daily or every other day basis,"
said the secretary, adding that he had spoken with British Defense Minister
Geoff Hoon by telephone "about an hour ago."
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- WILLINGNESS TO COMPROMISE?
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- Britain has recently appeared to show more willingness
at the United Nations to compromise on a controversial new resolution which
might authorize war against Baghdad.
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- Rumsfeld seemed to suggest that it stemmed from political
pressure. "Their situation is distinctive to their country and they
have a government that deals with a parliament in their way, distinctive
way," he told reporters.
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- "And what will ultimately be decided is unclear
as to their role, that is to say their role in the event a decision is
made to use force. There is the second issue of their role in a post-Saddam
Hussein reconstruction process, or stabilization process, which would be
a different matter."
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- Britain has committed about 42,000 military personnel,
including ground troops, to the potential war effort but only about 25,000
are in the Gulf region so far,
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