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 BLAIR: SADDAM SEEKING NUCLEAR WEAPONS Tue Jul 23 2002 22:41:10 ET Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein is seeking to acquire nuclear weapons, Prime Minister Tony Blair claimed today. Mr Blair warned that in addition to his well-catalogued chemical weapons capability and his suspected biological weapons stockpiles, the Iraqi dictator has clear ambitions to add nuclear devices to his arsenal. Last week Mr Blair warned that Saddam's programme to develop weapons of mass destruction represented a "gathering threat", and that September 11 had demonstrated that some security threats are so grave that they have to be tackled pre-emptively. In an interview for next month's issue of the centre-left Prospect magazine, Mr Blair suggested that that threat could be nuclear as well as chemical or biological. Asked about suggestions that US President George Bush is preparing military action designed to oust Saddam, Mr Blair said: "If the time comes for action, people will have the evidence presented to them. "But be in no doubt at all that he is certainly trying to acquire weapons of mass destruction, in particular a nuclear capability." In a wide-ranging interview, Mr Blair acknowledged a "certain scratchiness" in the EU-US relationship, but claimed that ideologues of right and left were exaggerating the differences and thus making the world a "much more dangerous place". Mr Blair said: "If we want to have greater sway and greater power, then instead of complaining about America, we've got to face up to what we need to do. That means developing a coherent defence capability and a set of institutions to allow Europe to speak strongly." The Prime Minister confirmed his support for the creation of a political president of the European Commission, arguing that the current arrangements under which the presidency of the council of ministers rotates every six months was "absurd." Asked whether if he had a personal interest in the post, he replied: "No, that's not the issue." On other issues, Mr Blair said he wanted a review of the international legal infrastructure for dealing with asylum seekers, arguing that the existing system was "fashioned for a different world". Mr Blair also insisted that the much-derided Third Way philosophy still underpins his Government's policies. "I would still defend it; indeed I could explain every part of what the Government is doing today in Third Way terms ... You cannot be a Government that redistributes wealth and opportunity unless you're running a strong, fiscally disciplined economy. "You won't get public services turned around unless they are based on consumers. And you can't be a serious player in the world unless you're strong on defence." END |
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