Inevitable? It's Looking That Way
by Nicola Mitchell

Jan. 20, 2003 -- LONDON (APJP) -- It's been a hectic couple of weeks in the UK. Developments over Iraq are hotting up and the PR machine on both sides of the Atlantic seems to be gathering momentum in order to sway public opinion in favour of war, but UK citizens and many politicians still remain unconvinced.

Not even Laura Bush's claims in Good Housekeeping magazine that Bush is a romantic at heart have managed to endear him to the European public, as Smirk's popularity in Europe is reaching all-time lows.

For its part, the UK government is facing a possible revolt among Labour backbenchers against an attack on Iraq, as it has been predicted that up to 100 MPs are preparing to rebel and junior ministers could resign if a war starts without UN backing.

It is becoming increasingly apparent that Labour MPs don't trust George Bush and they are beginning to wonder why Blair remains so close to him. The British public are also slightly bemused by this continued relationship -- and it is such strong public opinion, coupled with the fact the weapons inspectors are yet to find anything, that has led both Blair and his foreign secretary Jack Straw to go on the offensive and stress that war is not inevitable.

Moreover, in a bid to distance himself from claims that he is hanging on to Bush's coat tails, Blair hosted a London conference on the Middle East conflict which was attended by high level delegates from all sides, except the Palestinians, who were forced to take part via video link as punishment for last months suicide bombings. As the White House has shown that the Israel Palestine conflict is to take a back seat, Downing street is hoping this latest move will silence some of Blair's critics while also giving the prime minister something else to talk about other than Iraq.

But the words and actions of both Blair and Straw have been lost amidst images of another 62,000 US troops heading towards the Gulf and the knowledge that Britain is preparing to dispatch Challenger 2 tanks to the region.

The words of both men have also been drowned out by the so called rebel members of the Labour government, and also segments of the British media who insist that a potential war in Iraq would be purely in pursuit of oil, claims Blair has since described as "conspiracy theories"

In a television interview Britain's international development minister, Clare Short, publicly shared her worries about going to war without UN backing:

"I think it's very dangerous, I'm very, very worried. I think all the people of Britain have a duty to keep our country firmly on the UN route, so that we stop the US, maybe, going to war too early, and keep the world united."

And so the cabinet and the public remains divided. For the time being the argument looks set to remain unclear, at least until Blair visits both the UN and Bush at the end of the month -- just as Hans Blix, head of the UN inspection team, reports his progress to the security council.

But with Britain's acceptance of a crucial role in the Son of Star Wars programme, by allowing the US to incorporate the early warning radar station at Fylingdales, North Yorkshire into their proposed missile defence network, the so called "special relationship" appears to be stronger than ever. We will just have to wait and see what comes out of the next Blair Bush summit, but the increasing view from this side of the Atlantic is that a war is inevitable.