Blair sees UN resolution fearing dissent

British PM Tony Blair said on Wednesday that he believed he would get a second UN resolution before any strike on Iraq if Saddam Hussein def...

British PM Tony Blair said on Wednesday that he believed he would get a second UN resolution before any strike on Iraq if Saddam Hussein defies weapons inspectors.

Speaking in Parliament, he underlined his commitment to give the inspectors time to search Iraq but said to send any signal of wavering to Saddam would be a huge mistake. ‘‘I am not getting into…arbitrary timetables,’’ for weapons inspections, Blair said, adding that in the event of an ‘‘unreasonable veto’’ by the UN Security Council, military action may be needed without a fresh mandate.Pressed about returning to the UN for a second resolution prior to any strikes, Blair said: ‘‘I believe that it is not merely preferable but I believe we will get one.

Blair also gave a passionate defence of his tough stance on Iraq today under aggressive questioning from legislators opposed to his approach. He made an emotional case for standing firm against Saddam Hussein, even if the UN eventually declines to back military action.

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He emphasised the immediate danger which he argues Iraq’s alleged weapons of mass destruction pose to Britain saying that if they’re not eliminated they will eventually end up in terrorists’ hands.

Critics within his own Labour Party and from the Left-leaning Liberal Democrats accused Blair of being too willing to support US President George W. Bush, while Ian Duncan Smith, leader of the Opposition Conservatives, sought to show that the PM was unable to unify his own government behind his aggressive policy.

Duncan Smith said the cabinet was divided on Iraq, repeatedly citing International Development Secretary Clare Short’s recent comments that Britain should not join a military attack without UN authorisation.