November 21, 2002	Thursday	Ramazan 15, 1423

LONDON, Nov 20: The United States has formally asked Britain to mobilize troops for a possible deployment in Iraq, British Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon said on Wednesday.

Prime Minister Tony Blair, who is US President George Bush’s staunchest ally on Iraq, confirmed that Britain “would be part of any coalition to make sure that the will of the UN was upheld”.

Hoon declined to elaborate on the US request, and stressed that it did not mean that a military operation against Iraq was imminent.

“We have had a request for forces from the United States, but can I emphasize that no decision has been taken on that,” Hoon told reporters in London before the NATO summit in Prague.

Before departing for the Czech capital, Blair told the House of Commons that military action against Iraq could still be avoided, and he urged President Saddam Hussein to cooperate fully with UN inspectors.

Cooperation was not just about access to sites where Iraq is suspected of hiding weapons of mass destruction, but also a “full and honest” declaration of its arsenal, the prime minister said.

“If he cooperates fully with the inspection team, mandated by the UN, then there will be a peaceful resolution of this dispute,” he said. “But in the end, that decision is for him. I hope he chooses peace rather than conflict.”

Hoon told a press conference at the Foreign Press Association that the British government would “set out in more detail our thinking on Monday” in a parliamentary debate on the Iraq crisis.

The defence secretary added: “You can’t take it that any war plan will be announced, because as I have consistently emphasised no decision whatsoever has been taken here or for that matter in the United States on a specific plan to participate in military operations in Iraq.”

“What is important is that we are prepared, that we maintain that preparation, that we are there to underpin if necessary, the UN Security Council process,” he said.

The United States has threatened to disarm Iraq by force unless Baghdad cooperates fully with UN arms inspectors under the terms of Security Council Resolution 1441, which warns of “serious consequences” in case of non-compliance.

Hoon said that Iraqi targeting of British warplanes patrolling “no-fly” zones over the north and south of Iraq should be considered by the UN when it decides whether Saddam was in breach of the resolution.

US officials have claimed that Iraqi anti-aircraft fire directed at US and British warplanes in both zones constitutes a “material breach” of the Security Council resolution.

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has disagreed with Washington’s position.

Hoon said: “It is important that we recognise that this (Iraq) is an aggressive, belligerent state as far as our aircraft are concerned, and that will go to be part of the picture the Security Council discusses — but it would be a matter for the Security Council to discuss once all the evidence had been amassed.”

OIL PRICE: While scare stories abound about crude oil spiking to 80 dollars a barrel if the United States invades Iraq, a second Gulf war would likely have much less impact on energy prices than the first war more than a decade ago, oil experts said on Tuesday.

In all but a worst-case scenario, additional oil from OPEC would likely replace the falling share of Iraqi oil exports, while emergency US government stockpiles could smooth any unforeseen disruptions to other Mideast supplies, analysts said.

“There are a lot of differences this time around. Most importantly, the planning and preparation that appears to have (taken place),” said Richard Gilhooly, economist at BNP Paribas.

UN arms inspectors arrived in Baghdad for the first time since 1998 this week to search for weapons of mass destruction, the first step in a mission which will decide whether the United States goes to war with Iraq.

They arrived to news that Iraqi officials have agreed to produce a full account of the country’s weapons programme by Dec 8, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Mohamed ElBaradei, said on Tuesday.—Reuters