US prepared to go it alone, allies warned Richard Norton-Taylor
Monday February 4, 2002
The GuardianTension between the US and its European allies intensified yesterday as senior US officials warned that Washington would act alone in its "war" on terrorism, stoked up their rhetoric against Iraq, and chided their Nato partners for failing to increase defence budgets.
"What happened on September 11, terrible as it was, is but a pale shadow of what will happen if terrorists use weapons of mass destruction," Paul Wolfowitz, deputy US defence secretary, told an international security conference in Munich.
"Our approach has to aim at prevention and not merely punishment. We are at war," he said, adding: "Those countries that choose to tolerate terrorism and refuse to take action - or worse, those that continue to support it - will face consequences."
Mr Wolfowitz, one of the leading hawks in the Bush administration, made it clear the US would act whether or not all its allies agreed. The war against terrorism would need "flexible coalitions", he said.
Richard Perle, a senior Republican foreign policy adviser, told the conference in Munich: "Never has the United States been more unified, never has it been more purposeful, never has it been more willing, if necessary, to act alone.
"If we have to choose between protecting ourselves against terrorism and a long list of friends and allies, we will protect ourselves against terrorism."
Differences between the US and Britain over Iran emerged yesterday when the US defence secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, accused Tehran of letting Taliban and al-Qaida members escape from Afghanistan.
"There isn't any doubt in my mind that the porous border between Iran and Afghanistan has been used for al-Qaida and Taliban to move into Iran and find refuge," he said.
Mr Rumsfeld also said the US has "any number of reports" that Iran has been contributing to instability inside Afghanistan by arming Afghan factions.
British officials give a very different picture of Iran's attitude towards the al-Qaida network, which consists of Sunni Muslims, unlike most Muslims in Iran, who are Shia.
They say Iran has adopted a positive stance against al-Qaida terrorism and has detained a number of its fighters.
Tehran supported the Northern Alliance against al-Qaida and the Taliban during the Afghan civil war.
Senior Foreign Office diplomats say it is in Britain's "national strategic interest" to engage with Iran, and encourage reformers in the country.
Jack Straw, the foreign secretary, reflected growing European dismay at Washington's hard line during a visit to the US capital on Friday when he suggested that the president's remarks were motivated by US domestic politics.
Mr Bush's address was "best understood by the fact that there are mid-term congressional elections coming up in November", he told reporters. The Foreign Office, and the US state department, firmly believe it is in the west's interest to engage with Iran to encourage reformers there.
The Foreign Office has also said there is no evidence that Saddam Hussein was implicated in the September 11 attacks.
As the US Congress prepares to raise defence spending by $120bn (£85bn) over five years to $451bn, Lord Robertson, the Nato secretary general, said yesterday that Europe was "militarily undersized".
"American critics of Europe's military incapability are right," he warned the European allies. "So, if we are to ensure that the United States moves neither towards unilateralism nor isolationism, all European countries must show a new willingness to develop effective crisis management capabilities."
European politicians expressed deep concern about the US warnings.
Menzies Campbell, Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesman, said that "action against Iraq, it seems to me, requires uncontrovertible evidence in order to act, and I speak as a member of a parliament of a country willing to put boots on the ground".
The $48bn Mr Bush plans to increase military spending by this year is itself a third higher than the total military budget of Britain, the next-largest military spender in Nato.
But Geoff Hoon, the British defence secretary, faces a tough battle with the Treasury to increase his budget. A big rise is essential if Britain is to maintain its existing commitments, defence chiefs say.
Guardian Unlimited (c) Guardian Newspapers Limited 2002