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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, November 29, 2001

No Proof to Justify Attack on Iraq: British Defense Secretary

Britain's Defense Secretary Geoff Hoon said on Wednesday that he had seen no proof to justify an attack on Iraq, after the United States warned that it might attack Iraq if Iraqi President Saddam Hussein refuses to allow the United Nations weapons inspectors back to do their job in Baghdad.


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Britain's Defense Secretary Geoff Hoon said on Wednesday that he had seen no proof to justify an attack on Iraq, after the United States warned that it might attack Iraq if Iraqi President Saddam Hussein refuses to allow the United Nations weapons inspectors back to do their job in Baghdad.

"I have not seen any evidence to link Iraq directly with al- Qaeda," Hoon told a House of Commons defense committee shortly after Prime Minister Tony Blair said that he supported U.S. President George Bush's latest warnings to Iraq.

But the defense secretary said military action might be appropriate in states where there was little internal control of the fight against terrorism.

"In a state that has very little control within its own borders, certainly a degree of invasive military response may be appropriate," he said.

Earlier, reports here said the U.S. is ready to launch attacks against Yemen, Somalia and Sudan for allegedly offering support to No. 1 terror suspect Osama bin Laden.




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