Britain going it alone?

[Evanauto]

Britain will make its own decision whether to wage war on Iraq independently of what the United States does, the nation's Foreign Secretary said Tuesday as Prime Minister Tony Blair sought Parliament's support for the government's tough line.

Britain retained "freedom of maneuver," Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said, despite having drafted a one-page resolution with the United States and Spain that claims Iraq has missed its last chance to disarm peacefully.

"We are an independent sovereign country," Straw told British Broadcasting Corp. radio, adding: "We have not yet made a decision in respect of military action."

Straw said Britain may call for a vote on the new draft resolution within two weeks, but suggested Britain could go to war without U.N. backing. France, Russia and China, which each have power to veto a resolution, favor giving inspectors more time.

Many British lawmakers, including much of Blair's own Labor Party, oppose military action without U.N. approval, and have expressed concern that Blair is backing President Bush too closely on Iraq.

Lawmakers will vote Wednesday on a motion backing the government's handling of the Iraq crisis at the United Nations.

Lawmakers have expressed concern that the motion could be viewed as a veiled authorization for war. But the government's leader in the House of Commons, Robin Cook, has said the motion will not be a "trap."

Although the government is under no obligation to seek authorization from lawmakers before launching military action, Straw said it would seek parliamentary backing for any war, unless an attack was launched at very short notice.

"Any decision which the Cabinet makes will have to go the British House of Commons for endorsement," he said. "We've had to reserve the position that if in the event military action has to be taken very suddenly, we have to go to the Commons for endorsement afterward."

The new U.N. draft resolution sets no deadlines, but British and U.S. officials have said they want the Security Council to decide by mid-March "that Iraq has failed to take the final opportunity afforded to it in Resolution 1441," which was adopted unanimously by the council on Nov. 8.

"We've provided a period of around two weeks but that may turn out to be more, maybe a little less," Straw said. "I hope as a result of us serving this notice, Iraq will take the final opportunity which so far it has evaded."

[D2Kvirus]

Every time I hear BlairBush talking about our involvment in the PR Campaign, I keep getting mental images of South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut.

Don't be surprised if the tactics are Operation Human Shield and Operation Get Behind The Limys, in other words.

[TheEvilOne]

I don't think there's really much to this, other than just Blair trying to win support in Parliament. If he has support, great, if not, fine, the article said that his government doesn't need Parliament's authorization to launch military action. It would probably make him fairly unpopular, though, so maybe seeking Parliament's blessing is a good idea.

[JMHX]

I'm so sick of Tony Blair. Just because his own party is abandoning him, now he's making every effort to get them back while keeping on with this war junk. He needs to take a pick and go with it. All of this indecision and...bad teeth...unh.

[PreacherJ]

What's Blair really trying to do? Is this rally really going to have any effect? Doesn't Britain have a single dentist? There are a host of IMPORTANT questions Blair needs to address, don't you think?