US allies 'reserved' at plans to broaden war on terrorism
The US has been warned about reservations among it's allies on plans to broaden it's war on terrorism beyond those responsible for the September 11 attacks.
President Bush this week identified the next front in the campaign, calling Iran, Iraq and North Korea "an axis of evil" that turns on their development of weapons of mass destruction.
At the 38th annual Munich conference, the first major gathering of defence experts since the attacks, discussions centred on the definition of terrorists and to what extent the gap between rich and poor affects terror movements.
Conservative German lawmaker Karl Franz Lamers appealed to Washington to keep its European allies informed of its planning and strategy. "It cannot be that you decide and that we go along."
UK Liberal Democrat MP Menzies Campbell, expressed concerns about the US position on Iraq.
"Action against Iraq would require incontrovertible evidence," he said, noting that the common policy on Iraq since UN weapons inspectors withdrew in 1998 has been one of containment. "Why should we abandon that policy unless there has been clear evidence it has failed?"
And he questioned whether action against Iraq could be considered without broad political support enjoyed by the Afghan campaign.
But US experts claimed the US was prepared to act alone if its allies weren't on board.
"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," said Richard Perle, a senior Republican foreign policy adviser and former State Department official.
"If we have to choose between protecting ourselves against terrorism and a long list of friends and allies, we will protect ourselves against terrorism."
