Troops to remain in Iraq – Straw

Foreign Secretary Jack Straw has told the Labour party conference that British troops will stay in Iraq in order to help build a stable nation.

Speaking at the Brighton conference, Mr Straw referred to last week’s incident in Basra, following the arrest and subsequent rescue of two British soldiers, and said that “more dark moments” could be expected. However, he said: “We are in Iraq for one reason only – to help the elected Iraqi government build a secure, democratic and stable nation.

The Foreign Secretary stressed that Britain would only retain troops in Iraq with the consent of the Iraqi government.

Mr Straw said that “challenges still lie ahead in Iraq” and compared the situation to Germany after the Second World War. He said: “Nation building, from a violent past, has never been easy. Bringing any nation whose people have been ruled by violent dictatorships, to one where the people rule themselves can take time. That’s why we are there in Afghanistan and Iraq, just as we are in Kosovo, Bosnia and Sierra Leone.”

However, it was reported that during the Foreign Secretary's speech, an elderly man was removed by security, after he called Mr Straw's remarks "nonsense" and "a lie". Another younger man is also believed to have been ejected from the conference at the same time.

The Foreign Secretary said that the United Nations was at the heart of the achievement of this “active and engaged foreign policy”. He described the UN as a “great institution”, but said that it needed to “reform if it is to survive”.

“Major reforms” had been agreed at the Millennium Summit two weeks ago, Mr Straw said: “New development aid targets; a peace-building commission; a new and more effective human rights council; and, most important of all, a new recognition that sovereign states themselves and the nations of the world as a whole, have a clear “responsibility to protect” all citizens from genocide, from ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity.

The Foreign Secretary said that if this new responsibility had been in place ten years ago, the atrocities in Srebrenica and Rwanda could have been avoided.

“My pledge to you is to ensure that the fine words on responsibility to protect are translated into collective action.”

During the speech, Mr Straw also said that a decision on Turkey’s entry into the European Union, which he described as “one of our highest priorities” would be made next week, under the UK’s presidency.

He also praised the progress that had been made in resolving the conflict between Israel and Palestine, although he said that “both sides have to do more”. He said that Palestinians had to reform their security services and dismantle all terrorist organisations, while the Israelis had to cease all settlement activity, stop the confiscation of Palestinian land and alter the route of their security wall.

Earlier, Mr Straw had ruled out the possibility of Britain and the US going to war in Iran over its nuclear programme. He told BBC Radio 4’s ‘Today’ programme that war against Iran was “inconceivable” and was not on the agenda.

Mr Straw’s statement follows the announcement that the International Atomic Energy Agency had passed a resolution stating that Iran had failed to comply with obligations under the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty.

Iran will be reported to the UN Security Council as a result of the resolution. It has maintained that the nuclear programme is only intended for domestic energy purposes.

(KMcA/SP)