British Prime Minister Tony Blair's outspoken aid minister resigned from his government on Monday, angrily accusing him of breaking a promise that the United Nations should have a leading role in post-war Iraq. Clare Short, who fiercely criticized Blair's "reckless" stance over Iraq just days before British troops joined U.S.-led invasion to topple Saddam Hussein, said his approach to Iraq's reconstruction made her position impossible. She was the second senior minister to resign from Blair's cabinet over the war, which was opposed by many members of his ruling Labour party and which triggered a major parliamentary rebellion in March. Blair's office announced soon afterwards it was replacing her with junior Foreign Office minister Baroness Amos. The speed of the replacement suggested Blair had been preparing to remove her anyway and analysts doubted the exit of Short, 57, would have a major impact on the government.
Improves the smell, at any rate.
"As you know, I thought the run-up to the conflict in Iraq was mishandled, but I agreed to stay in the government to help support the reconstruction effort for the people of Iraq," Short wrote in her resignation letter to Blair. "I am afraid that the assurances you gave me about the need for a U.N. mandate to establish a legitimate Iraqi government have been breached," she said. She accused Blair and Foreign Secretary Jack Straw of secretly negotiating a U.N. resolution which contradicted assurances she had given to parliament about "the need for a U.N.-led process to establish a legitimate Iraqi government." "This makes my position impossible," she said.
Goodbye. |