Blair pledges to stand by US

BRITISH Prime Minister Tony Blair yesterday promised to remain America's closest ally, but urged the US to "listen back" to the international community and embrace a broader world agenda.

Mr Blair said the price of British influence over the White House was not "that we have, obediently, to do whatever the US asks" and promised he would never commit British troops "to a war I thought was wrong or unnecessary".

Mr Blair highlighted weapons of mass destruction (WMD) as the key issue facing the world community today warning it was only "a matter of time" before terrorists acquired a nuclear capability.

Speaking to a "leadership conference" of more than 100 British ambassadors and High Commissioners in London, Mr Blair said America should not be left facing the world's trickiest problems, including Iraq, on its own.

He said: "We should remain the closest ally of the US, and as allies, influence them to continue broadening their agenda. We are the ally of the US not because they are powerful, but because we share their values."

He described anti-Americanism as "a foolish indulgence" and said even those countries critical of the United States wished they had the same relationship with the White House as Britain.

Meanwhile Iraqi President Saddam Hussein warned the US that Iraq was no Afghanistan, saying it was a rich country with a stable government and a military that was stronger than it had been in the 1991 Gulf War, in remarks quoted yesterday.

He also repeated allegations that UN inspectors searching for weapons of mass destruction were spying.

Iraqi television said Saddam made the remarks to commanders of his Republican Guards formation on Monday.

"It seems that what the enemy called the fall of the Taliban regime (in Afghanistan) is tempting it to launch an aggression against Iraq," Saddam told the officers led by his youngest son Qusay who is the "supervisor" of the Guards, the television said.

But he said the Taliban had not even formed a state during their rule in Afghanistan.

"Iraq is different than Afghanistan because it is a rich country. Your country is organised and stable. No other country in the world is like it ... It produces oil and does not need to import it," Saddam said.

He told the commanders the Iraqi armed forces were now in a better shape than in 1991 when a U.S.-led coalition evicted them from Kuwait in a five-week campaign.

"In 1991 we didn't have experience in this type of fighting ... but now our armed forces are stronger, our soldier understands better his duties and role. As for weapons these have been developed but generally they are the same," he said. "No army in the world has gained the experience in fighting an advanced army like the experience that we have gained from the circumstances that we went through in 1991 and what followed."