MAINTAINING THE INTERNATIONAL COALITION
234. Vice President Dick Cheney visited Bahrain,
Egypt, Jordan, Israel, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey
and the United Arab Emirates in March 2002. The visit was widely
perceived as an attempt to win support in the region for action
against Iraq. However, the reaction he received from the governments
of these countries was distinctly cool, particularly in the light
of escalating violence in the Middle East: the international context
had moved in Iraq's favour as a consequence of the escalation
of the intifada, and the Iraqi leader was received with
some warmth by fellow Arab leaders at the Council of the League
of Arab States in Beirut on 26-28 March 2002.
235. The British Prime Minister, Foreign Secretary
and other Ministers have also travelled widely and frequently
in order to reassure nervous allies, bolster the international
coalition, and make the case for a robust response to international
terrorism. Such direct contacts are very necessary. As even the
awful memory of 11 September fades, and as the bloody conflict
in the Middle East continues, the unity and purpose of the coalition
will come under increasing strain. Then, the skills of its leading
members will be put to the test.
236. The US Embassy in London provided us with a
statement of their administration's attitude towards the international
coalition: "The US has demonstrated that it can and will
act alone when necessary. By the same token, we do not take lightly
the costs to ourselves and to others when we forego participation
in some multilateral initiative."[233]
We take heart from this statement, but we do not underestimate
the difficulties which may lie ahead in preserving the "multilateral
initiative" which is the international coalition against
global terrorism.
237. We commend Ministers for what they have already
done to build and maintain the international coalition against
terrorism. We recommend that the Government continue to give a
high priority to maintaining the coalition; to achieving the full
commitment of its members; and in particular to persuading the
United States of the value of continuing to operate through it.
193