By CATHERINE FIELD in Paris
The United States may be pounding the drums for a war against Saddam Hussein, but Europe is turning a deaf ear.
With the exception of Britain, leaders from the Atlantic to the Urals have politely but firmly said they will not support a war against Iraq unless President George W. Bush puts up a convincing argument that Baghdad is a threat or that it took part in the September 11 terrorist attacks.
Their worry is that the conflict would be too long and too uncertain, and would only inflame sentiment in the Middle East, where many people are incensed by Washington's support for Israel's crackdown on the Palestinians.
Opposition to action against Iraq was so clear that the matter was abruptly withdrawn from last weekend's European Union summit in Barcelona.
Belgium had sought a formal discussion, but the suggestion was quashed by British Prime Minister Tony Blair after he sounded out his fellow EU leaders.
European Commission President Roman Prodi said it was "possible" that the EU could oppose an attack plan.
"My position is one of deep worry about a possible attack on Iraq because of the potential expansion of the conflict," Prodi said. "It is a very delicate area."
Others who have spoken out against military action without justification or a United Nations mandate include French Prime Minister Lionel Jospin, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit and Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov.
"I have no sympathy for the dictatorial Iraqi regime," Jospin said. "Iraq must obey its international obligations and be brought back in line with its obligations and oversight of its weapons.
"The problem is how to go about it. You cannot choose solutions whose consequences could make the current situation only worse."
Schroeder and French President Jacques Chirac have taken up the role of good cop to America's bad cop, urging Iraq to head off the threat by respecting UN resolutions and allowing UN weapons inspectors to return.
The one Government which seems to support a powerful, early strike is the British Government, which has stood unwaveringly at America's side in previous actions against Iraq and in the war in Afghanistan.
Even then, there are apparent divisions within the Blair Cabinet and public disquiet, reflected by the latest opinion poll that showed 51 per cent of respondents were against an attack on Iraq.
Against this background of disunity between Washington and its European allies, pressure is growing on US intelligence agencies to provide strong evidence of an Iraqi threat before a flurry of cross-Atlantic contacts in the coming weeks.
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Europe deaf to beat of US war drums
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