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Britain Tells US To Reign In Jewish Hawks
Wolfowitz, Perle Need To Be Muzzled To Create "New World Order"
2/10/02 2:17:29 PM
London Observer
London, England -- UK tells White House to rein in the hawks
Kamal Ahmed, political editor
Sunday February 10, 2002
The Observer
Britain revealed its increasing irritation with America over the war
against
terrorism yesterday when senior Government sources said that hawkish
elements
in the White House were using 'unnecessarily belligerent' language.
Referring to President Bush's comment that Iraq, Iran and North Korea
formed
an 'axis of evil', Whitehall officials said that it was becoming
increasingly
difficult to back fully the US stance.
Peter Hain, the Europe Minister, strengthened the sense of growing tension
when he said yesterday that Britain would not be America's 'patsy'.
While insisting that the Government was still a 'steadfast ally' of
Washington, he said that Britain was independent when it came to foreign
affairs.
His comments come the day after Chris Patten, the European Commissioner
for
international relations, who is known to be close to Tony Blair, attacked
Washington for its 'absolutist and simplistic' approach.
'There is more to be said for trying to engage and to draw these societies
into the international communities than to cut them off,' he said in an
interview with The Guardian.
Lionel Jospin, the French Prime Minister, also warned the US not to give
in
to 'the strong temptation of unilateralism'.
Addressing a Fabian conference on world affairs, Hain highlighted the
growing
thaw in relations with both Iran and North Korea, despite the recent spat
over
the new British ambassador to Tehran.
The Iranian authorities have refused to accept the new ambassador, David
Reddaway, accusing him of being 'a Jew' and in MI6. In a tit-for-tat move,
Britain downgraded the Iranian ambassador to London to the status of
charg�
d'affaires.
'There are still elements in the US who want to act unilaterally rather
than
multilaterally, in isolation from, rather than in co-operation with, other
nations,' Hain said. 'The question is how can we build on the
international
unity following September 11 to create a new world order shaped by our
values
of democracy, human rights, environmental protection, equality and
justice."
Or, he asked, 'will it be shaped by a quite different agenda, driven by
hawks
on Capitol Hill, let off the hook by rejectionists and cynics worldwide?'
Privately, the Government is going much further in its criticism of US
tactics
and attempting to promote Colin Powell, the Secretary of State, who is
seen as
a restraining influence on Bush and Donald Rumsfeld, the Defence
Secretary.
However, a source close to the Prime Minister said: 'We cannot engage in
the
type of megaphone diplomacy that Chris Patten has deployed. We have far
more
influence remaining inside the tent [with America] than outside it.'
Asked whether the 'axis of evil' comment had been a useful addition to the
debate on terrorism, the official said: 'Let's put it this way, it is not
phrase we would have used.'
Libertarian Socialist News
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