British FM: No Difference Between Britain and US on Iraq

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, September 26, 2002

British FM: No Difference Between Britain and US on Iraq

British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said on Wednesday that there was no difference between British and US' approaches to Iraq.

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British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said on Wednesday that there was no difference between British and US' approaches to Iraq.

"The objective which we seek ... is the disarmament of the Saddam Hussein regime," Straw told BBC radio.

"It may be that a consequence of that process will be regime change. The objective is disarmament. Our priority, our strategy of choice, and this is also the strategy of choice of the United States, is to achieve this by peaceful means," Straw said.

In recent days, US President George W. Bush has clearly made Iraqi "regime change" his administration's policy.

But Straw said he heard the president focus on disarmament when he addressed the United Nations on Sept. 12.

"I don't think there's anybody who would not wish to see the Iraqi regime change. If there is to be disarmament by the Iraqi regime under Saddam Hussein, then the nature of that regime ... will have changed quite profoundly," Straw said.

Straw made these comments shortly after Britain released a dossier which said Iraq has a growing arsenal of chemical and biological weapons and plans to use them.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who claimed that Iraq is trying to develop nuclear weapons, has always been the closest ally to US President George Bush on the possible war against Iraq.

Facing stiff opposition in his own Labor Party to his tough talk on Iraq, Blair on Tuesday told a special session of Parliament that his priority is to get inspectors back into Iraq, not to topple Saddam.

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