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| Britain |
| UK Tony v. Jack Straw Over Iranian Nuke Response |
| 2005-09-19 |
| A serious rift has opened between Tony Blair and Jack Straw over whether to retain the threat of military action against Iran if it refuses to halt its nuclear programme. A day after Mr Straw declared that the crisis "will not be resolved by military means", Downing Street distanced itself from the Foreign Secretary. It lined up behind President George W Bush, who has made clear that "all options are on the table" while wanting a diplomatic solution and insisting there are no plans to use force. The Foreign Office made no attempt to hide the disagreement last night. "Jack's view is clear," said a senior official. "Military action is inconceivable." Earlier, the Prime Minister's official spokesman played down any suggestion of a split but, when asked about the difference between Mr Straw's views and those of the US President, he emphasised that Mr Blair agreed with Mr Bush. "On May 12
the Prime Minister at a press conference said that what President Bush has said is perfectly sensible. "You can't say you are taking options off the table. But he went on to say, I think very sensibly too, that nobody is talking about invasions of Iran or military action against Iran." |
| Posted by:Captain America |
| #4 The Foreign Ministry thinks so. But diplomats have always been funny that way... a classic servant/master confusion. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2005-09-19 22:32 |
| #3 Jack Straw can have a position independent of Blair's because he does not serve at Blair's pleasure, unlike a US Secretary of State, whose job security rests entirely on the President's continued approval. |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2005-09-19 22:27 |
| #2 Does a |
| Posted by: .com 2005-09-19 22:05 |
| #1 Jack, there you go, using that word again. |
| Posted by: Dishman 2005-09-19 21:54 |