Memorandum from Mr A Qavi
I wish to draw to the committee's attention
the report on the deliberations at the International Conference
held at Ditchley Park over the weekend 12-14 April, 2002 which
appeared in International Herald Tribune, London on 18 April last
year. Appearing under the byline of William Pfaff and headlined
"The NATO allies are drifting apart" it highlighted
the division between the Americans and its European allies about
war on terror.
The article made it clear that the war on Iraq,
according to US participants, was being planned not because of
any threat of WMDs from Saddam regime or regime change but as
an example for the rest of the Middle East and in particular the
Palestinians. I quote the relevant paragraphs:
"Those Americans at Ditchley who are close
to the Bush administration insisted that the next step in the
war against terrorism must be an attack on Iraq. They argue that
the United States must unseat Saddam Hussein because only then
will the other states of the Middle East (and troublesome states
elsewhere) understand that Washington means to destroy its enemies
wherever they are, and will do so whether the Europeans, or the
"International Community," like it or not.
Victory over Saddam, Bush's supporters say,
will unlock everything. Other Arabs will see that nothing can
be gained from supporting terrorism. They will turn against Al
Qaeda, and will tell the Palestinians to put away the bombs, arrest
the bombers and take whatever settlement Israel offers.
Further on, the report says "Allies who
can't believe their story, and oppose an attack on Iraq, were
twice reminded by Americans at the conference that the
United States does not need allies. It was suggested that if NATO
fails to support the United States on Iraq, it might find itself
out of business." (My emphasis.)
Mr M A Qavi
June 2003
|