Iraq May Need to be Attacked One Day: British Foreign Secretary

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, April 08, 2002

Iraq May Need to be Attacked One Day: British Foreign Secretary

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Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's government may one day need to be attacked if it continues to prevent United Nations officials from inspecting that country for weapons of mass destruction, British Foreign Minister Jack Straw said on Sunday.

Straw criticized Iraq for defying Security Council resolutions by forcing U.N. weapons inspectors to leave in 1998.

He said Saddam must let them return and do their job freely "if he wants a future". "Otherwise, we'll have to conclude that his regime is so dangerous to the people of the world that, yes, the preference has to be to see an end to it," Straw told the Sky News television "Sunday" program.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair is currently in the United States for talks with President George Bush on the situation in Middle East and the Iraq issue.

But Straw seemed to rule out the possibility of the United States and Britain reaching a final decision to attack Iraq any time soon.

"A decision will be made very cautiously, carefully and in a manner consistent with both these individuals, President Bush and the Prime Minister, and when decisions are made people will be told, but it is a long way off yet," Straw said.

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