British Prime Minister Tony Blair, US President George W Bush's closest ally in the "war on terror", gave his clearest warning yet on Wednesday that action was imminent against Iraq and its leader Saddam Hussein.
"He should not underestimate the determination of the international community to prevent him developing and using weapons of mass destruction," Blair wrote in the Daily Express newspaper.
Bush, who has said the US campaign in Afghanistan against the people believed to be behind the September 11 attacks on the United States was just the start, prompted a wave of global jitters in January by branding Iraq, Iran and North Korea an "axis of evil".
There have been regular hints by his top aides that some sort of military action against Saddam was on the cards given Iraq's refusal to allow UN weapons inspectors back into the country.
Even in Britain, which has warned against spreading the military campaign beyond Afghanistan where US forces are waging a major land battle in the mountains, the language has gradually got firmer over the past month.
"If we fail to continue to restrain Saddam Hussein, what is already a volatile situation in the region could easily become a world crisis," Blair wrote.
"Just because we have managed to contain the threat from Saddam for so long does not mean it has gone away. Saddam is continuing his chemical and biological weapons programmes and is developing the long-range missiles to deliver them," he added.
Blair, who noted that international weapons inspectors had found copious quantities of anthrax and other biological weapons and delivery systems in Iraq after the Gulf War, said the Iraqi leader would have no compunction in using them.
He stressed, as in the past, that no decision on a military strike against Iraq had yet been taken but hinted that one was not far off -- despite the losses being taken by US forces in battling al Qaeda fighters in mountain hideouts in Afghanistan.
"How we act is a matter for discussion. Though Iraq seems far away and Saddam, for the moment, is on the defensive, it is in the interests of us all to face up to these threats with determination and resolve," Blair wrote.
"What the lessons of America's leadership following September 11 demonstrate is that President Bush will consult widely with his allies. Saddam Hussein would be wise not to mistake this for weakness," he added.
(China Daily March 7, 2002)
