The Hindu : Blair faces `friendly fire' over Iraq

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Apr 17, 2003

International

International

Blair faces `friendly fire' over Iraq

By Hasan Suroor

LONDON APRIL 16. The British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, might have won the battle for Baghdad, but at home he continues to be in the firing line for joining the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq despite an increasingly resigned acceptance of what the Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw, called the "new reality'' in the region.

In an embarrassing development, one of Mr. Blair's most high-profile Cabinet Ministers, Clare Short, questioned whether the fall of the Saddam Hussein's regime was worth it considering that it cost so many innocent civilian lives.

She also suggested that a military victory in Iraq did not mean that Mr. Blair's political future was necessarily secure.

``It is too early, as the Chinese say, to decide what the long-term effect on the reputation of the Prime Minister is,'' she said even as the former Foreign Secretary, Robin Cook, who resigned from the Cabinet over Mr. Blair's Iraq policy, attacked the Prime Minister for cosying up to a "neo-conservative management'' in White House.

But it was Ms. Short's defiant remarks, notably her criticism of U.S. troops for their handling of the post-invasion situation, that grabbed the headlines much to the irritation of Blair loyalists and there was speculation that she might be sacked in the next ministerial reshuffle.

A persistent critic of Mr. Blair's pro-U.S. stance, Ms. Short had threatened to resign in the run-up to the war but was persuaded to fall in line after being promised a vital role in post-war reconstruction of Iraq.

Apparently, she is unhappy over the turn of events and, to a question from foreign journalists, said the removal of Mr. Hussein did not justify so many civilian casualties.

``I do not think that the death of any human being is a price worth paying,'' she said.

She also said that the coalition forces did not appear to have been fully prepared to deal with the situation after Saddam's downfall.

"The rapid collapse of the regime was not prepared for. We should have done better,'' she said and criticised the U.S. forces for failing to control the looting and chaos that followed the collapse of the Iraqi regime.

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