Staunch U.S. ally Britain, struggling to rally support for war, yesterday seized on a finding that Iraq has missiles of prohibited range as proof it is defying the United Nations.
A panel of independent arms experts told the U.N. the range of Iraq’s Al Samoud 2 rockets exceeded by up to 40 km the 150-km limit laid down by U.N. arms controls.
“If these reports are correct... it is very serious,” Blair said after talks with Australian Prime Minister John Howard.
In Berlin, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder vowed yesterday he would fight to prevent war in Iraq and said a majority of U.N. Security Council members backed his view.
Schroeder said a NATO dispute on military planning to protect Turkey in the event of war would not be resolved before the Council meeting today.
Confronting fierce accusations from opposition leaders that he is isolating Germany, dividing Europe and wrecking NATO, Schroeder made a passionate speech to Parliament saying Germany had earned the right to stand by its stance against war.
A panel of independent arms experts told the U.N. the range of Iraq’s Al Samoud 2 rockets exceeded by up to 40 km the 150-km limit laid down by U.N. arms controls.
“If these reports are correct... it is very serious,” Blair said after talks with Australian Prime Minister John Howard.
In Berlin, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder vowed yesterday he would fight to prevent war in Iraq and said a majority of U.N. Security Council members backed his view.
Schroeder said a NATO dispute on military planning to protect Turkey in the event of war would not be resolved before the Council meeting today.
Confronting fierce accusations from opposition leaders that he is isolating Germany, dividing Europe and wrecking NATO, Schroeder made a passionate speech to Parliament saying Germany had earned the right to stand by its stance against war.