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http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/allnews/page.cfm?objectid=12269248&method=full&siteid=50143 The Mirror (UK) October 10, 2002 KICK THE POODLE White House slaps down Blair as he works for Bush in Russia By Jon Clements And Oonagh Blackman TONY Blair came under fire from America last night as he tried to persuade Russia to back plans for a tough new UN resolution against Iraq. The Prime Minister was in Moscow attempting to get President Putin onside against Saddam Hussein when he was accused by the US of "rushing the strategy" over the Palestinian problem. Mr Blair - often dubbed President Bush's poodle - had told the Labour Party conference that he envisaged substantive talks between Israel and the Palestinians before the year's end. But a US State Department official claimed last night that Mr Blair's strategy for the Middle East was at odds with the "quartet" of mediators - Britain, America, Russia and the UN - which had agreed to postpone talks on the future of the Palestinian territories until at least 2004. A State Department official said: "Blair's proposal goes directly against the statement of the quartet that not until 2004 to 2005 would there be Israeli-Palestinian negotiations on final status issues." As the rift emerged, Israeli troops opened fire in a Palestinian refugee camp in the Gaza Strip, killing two teenage children, and injuring another 18 people, including a two-year-old. Mr Blair also came under fire yesterday from Saddam's bitter enemy, Iran. They condemned British and American sabre-rattling and said a war against Baghdad would alienate the Arab world. The outburst from Iran's Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi came as Foreign Secretary Jack Straw was on a four-day Middle East diplomatic mission, trying to drum up support against Saddam. Mr Kharrazi said: "We feel beating the drums of war for Iraq has been reason enough for Palestine to become marginalised and this has prepared the ground for Israel to continue its aggression." "All countries of the Islamic world are against the unilateral policies of the US and this has been reason enough for a deep hatred to be felt throughout Islamic countries." Mr Straw has already been snubbed by Egypt and Jordan over a new hardline UN resolution. Arab leaders want UN weapons inspectors back in Iraq under existing resolutions. Last night, Mr Blair denied trying to bribe Russia. Commentators in Moscow had claimed the West would offer "inducements" such as guaranteed oil contracts in Iraq if Saddam's regime was toppled. But Mr Blair said: "Obviously there are interests that Russia has in this issue, but I don't think it's a question of price tags." Meanwhile, President Bush suffered a setback from his own CIA, which claimed that the likelihood of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein launching an unprovoked attack on the US was "very low". __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Faith Hill - Exclusive Performances, Videos & More http://faith.yahoo.com --------------------------- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: [email protected] EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bacIlu Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
