Bush will have to present stronger case against Iraq, says Clark

11.40am

Prime Minister Helen Clark said today she doubted the United States would be able to present a case that would persuade the United Nations to mandate a military strike against Iraq.

Miss Clark described the evidence presented so far to back claims about Iraq's nuclear weapon capacity as "pretty sketchy" and said President George W Bush would have to present a stronger case when he addressed the UN General Assembly later this week.

"They don't have the hard evidence ... it will need to be substantially greater than what's been presented so far to persuade most nations that there was a case," she said on National Radio.

"I've got no doubt Saddam Hussein is an extremely unpleasant and bad person and that he's got his scientists busy, but whether they present a clear and present danger right now to the world, the US or anybody else is quite another point."

Miss Clark yesterday made it clear New Zealand would not support a strike against Iraq without an explicit UN mandate, and she said today military action posed serious dangers for the region.

"I think it will trigger a lot of instability in the Middle East. There is also the issue of it fracturing the coalition built around getting rid of al Qaeda, and it would make it harder to get an Israeli-Palestinian settlement," she said.

- NZPA

Further reading:
Feature: War with Iraq

Iraq links and resources