Visiting British Prime Minister Tony Blair warned Iraqi President Saddam Hussein in Washington on Sunday that he should allow UN weapons inspectors into his country "any time, any place the international community demands" or he may face consequences.
Speaking in Texas after a weekend of talks with US President George W. Bush, Blair said the regime of Saddam is "detestable and brutal," and there should be "no let up" on terrorism or weapons of mass destruction.
"We must be prepared to act where terrorism or weapons of mass destruction threaten us," he said. "If necessary the action should be military and again, if necessary and justified, it should involve regime change."
"To allow weapons of mass destruction to be developed by a state like Iraq would be grossly to ignore the lessons of September 11, and we will not do it," Blair said.
But he stopped short of saying any action against Saddam will occur right away. "We will proceed, as we did after September 11, in a calm, measured, sensible but firm way," he said.
(Xinhua News Agency April 8, 2002)
