Blair urged to lead debate on Iraq war
Iraq-UK, Politics, 1/20/2007

UK Prime Minister Tony Blair is being urged by MPs to lead next week's parliamentary debate on the Iraq war after failing to attend the last general debate in October.

"Has the Leader of the House (of Commons) convinced the Prime Minister to be here on January 24, as I asked him to last week?" Scottish Nationalist MP Angus MacNeil challenged Jack Straw in parliament on Thursday.

"I cannot help but think that, if this was four years ago, and the debate was on going to war, the Prime Minister would be here, spinning and misleading from the front," MacNeil told MPs.

British MPs have been seeking a parliamentary debate on Iraq since last month's publication of Iraq Study Group (ISG) report in the US, which coincided with Blair meeting President George W Bush in Washington, but any discussion was delayed until next Thursday.

At the time, the prime minister said he would respond to the review on Iraq policy within the "next few weeks" but insisted UK will come to a "different position" in respect of the deployment of its troops, provided the current operations in Basra are successful.

But Straw, who is responsible for parliamentary business in the House of Commons, refused to state whether Blair would lead the government's position on Iraq during the debate and rejected claims it was the first real debate on the war in four years.

MPs have also expressed concern that the debate and vote will not be on a substantive motion of policy but only on a general "motion for the Adjournment of the House," which the government is the usual, although not exclusive basis for foreign policy debates.

Last month, Blair's official spokesman played down the importance of the Iraq review saying that the ISG had "not been established by President Bush but by two NGOs - foreign policy trusts." Unlike the US, which is dispatching an extra 21,500 troops to Iraq, the UK is hoping to start withdrawing its forces in time before the prime minister steps down from power later this year.

One of the other issues is the ISG call for the opening of talks with Iran and Syria to help bring stability to Iraq, but this so far has been rejected by the Bush Administration.

Previous Stories:
  Iraq abuse cases dismissed by UK military police   (1/13/2007)
  Clare Short: Blair is delusional on Iraq   (1/13/2007)
  Brown 'to refocus' UK foreign policy away from Iraq debacle   (1/6/2007)

Please add a link on your webiste pointing to ArabicNews.com and bookmark ArabicNews.com & subscribe to our daily email news bulletin.

Search