War with Iraq is not president's aim, insists US ambassador to

"Washington does not want to go to war," said America's ambassador to London, William Farish. "It would prefer to see Saddam disarmed."

Speaking exclusively to the Sunday Herald while on a brief official visit to Glasgow last week, Parish was signalling a recent change of heart in the United States capital. Nervousness has been growing in the US about shifting tides of public opinion both at home and overseas.

Farish did not go so far as to say that disarmament would be sufficient or, as President Bush has said, that there would be need for the Iraqi leader to be deposed.

"That would have to come from the president," he said, "but I do know that the president is adamant that, one, he doesn't want to go to war and two, he'd far rather see Saddam disarmed. Whether Saddam stays in power or not, I think disarmament is the major factor at the moment."

Farish is well qualified to know the mind of George W Bush. He is a Houston oilman and long-time business associate of the Bush family, personally chosen for what is regarded as one of the more prestigious ambassadorial postings. But two months after the Senate approved him, he was at the heart of the war on terror as a personal link in London between Bush and Tony Blair.

"Blair is not a poodle," he said. "I'd do anything I can to make that point clear. I've been with him when our key people have been over here. I've been with him in Camp David when a lot of decisions were made and his leadership was not that of a poodle. It was that of a very thoughtful leader with a lot of very good ideas."

The talk out of Washington, echoed by its ambassador to the Court of St James, has shifted significantly in recent weeks, which commentators in America have linked to a shift in public opinion. Although Bush rode out of his mid-term elections on a high, there are still widespread doubts about his belligerent talk. According to a recent Time/CNN poll, doubts have grown since the start of the year as the threat of war with Iraq has grown. There are more trusters than doubters, but the gap is perilously close for such a high-risk war plan.

Farish said Bush should be trusted. "He is absolutely what you see. He's very direct, he's a very honest person, he's a very religious person, he means exactly what he says. He doesn't beat about the bush. He's not a typical politician in many ways."

The ambassador said the concerns in Britain and the rest of the Europe may have come from a period in the summer when talk of war was growing and ministers were scattered and there weren't sufficient responses to protests and fears.

"I think the president has shown tremendous patience. The USA was going to charge into this thing. We haven't. We weren't going to take it to the United Nations, and nobody thought a month ago we'd get unanimous approval from the Security Council. We did."

With the USA committing a vast increase in defence spending, Farish is part of a diplomatic offensive to put pressure on Europeans to do likewise. "I'm aware of the problem, in that countries don't have the money to spend on defence, or don't see it as a priority. We're doing it in the US, building up substantially, and we're hoping it becomes more of a priority and European countries follow our lead and see the need for it."

The more toned down talk from Washington moves towards a position that will be set out in London this week by a leading foreign and defence policy academic, Professor Joseph Nye of Harvard University. He will argue that the USA needs to balance the 'hard' talk of military force projection with 'soft' power, in response to growing global concern about America's dominance and intentions.

Copyright 2002 SMG Sunday Newspapers Ltd.
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.