Newsgroup: it.cultura.religioni.cristiani
Titolo: GB: almeno uno ce n'e'...

by Guardian:
-------------------------
Cook resigns from cabinet over Iraq 
Robin Cook, the leader of the Commons and a former foreign secretary,
today resigned from the government in protest over the prime
minister's stance on Iraq.
Following a weekend of fervent speculation - and silence from Mr Cook
himself - the minister left Downing Street before the start of
today's emergency cabinet.
Mr Cook said in a statement: "It is 20 years ago that I first joined
Labour's shadow cabinet. It is with regret I have today resigned from
its cabinet. I can't accept collective responsibility for the
decision to commit Britain now to military action in Iraq without
international agreement or domestic support."
He becomes the first - but possibly not the last - cabinet minister
to resign over the looming conflict in the Gulf. The international
development secretary, Clare Short, is "reflecting overnight" on her
position, a spokeswoman from her department said. 
Mr Cook is now expected to make a public statement on his resignation
in the Commons tonight, following Jack Straw's address to MPs at 7pm.
This could be a highly dramatic moment, as Mr Cook is a veteran
Commons orator, and is expected to take apart the legal basis for a
pre-emptive attack on Iraq with forensic skill.
In his letter of resignation, Mr Cook made clear that he had raised
his worries over a US/UK attack over some time with the prime
minister - although absolved Mr Blair from blame for the failure of
the UN to secure a second resolution.
He wrote: "At cabinet for some weeks I have been frank about my
concern over embarking on military action in the absence of
multilateral support. 
"In principle I believe it is wrong to embark on military action
without broad international support. In practice I believe it is
against Britain's interests to create a precedent for unilateral
military action. 
"As our foreign secretary I was impressed by the energy and skill
with which you ended Britain's isolation in Europe and achieved for
our country equal status and influence to Germany or France. I am
dismayed that once again Britain is divided from our major European
neighbours. 
"As president of the party of European socialists, of which the
Labour party is a member, it troubles me that I know of no sister
party within the European Union that shares our position."
Mr Blair, in response, praised Mr Cook's time as foreign secretary
and leader of the Commons, but used the majority of his letter to
justify the government's position - largely blaming the French.
He wrote; "I want to thank you for the contribution you made in your
two cabinet posts, and no doubt will continue to make, to forging
better relations between Britain and the rest of the EU. When the
current crisis is over, this will be particularly important. 
"On your resignation, I have always tried to resolve this crisis
through the UN, as you recognise in your letter. But I was always
clear that the UN must be the way of dealing with the issue, not
avoiding dealing with it. 
"The government is staying true to resolution 1441. Others, in the
face of continuing Iraqi non-compliance, are walking away from it. 
As I have said to you, the threatened French veto set back hugely the
considerable progress we were making in building consensus among UNSC
members. "
Mr Cook's colleague, Clare Short, the international development
secretary, last week threatened to quit the government if an attack
on Iraq took place without a second UN resolution.
Mr Cook's position as leader of the Commons, where he has done much
to modernise MPs working hours while losing the battle for a more
democratic upper chamber, can be easily filled - most probably by the
current chief whip, Hilary Armstrong. However, the political
significance lies in Mr Cook's five years as Mr Blair's first foreign
secretary, the post now occupied by Jack Straw.
A PPS to Margaret Beckett, Andy Reed, has already quit over Iraq, and
Mr Blair has survived a rebellion by 122 Labour backbenchers, all of
whom voted for a motion saying the case for war on Iraq was "not
proven".
Although the Conservative frontbench has pledged its support for the
prime minister's position of allying Britain to a US-led attack on
Iraq, several high-profile backbench Tories have come out against
military action, including former chancellor Kenneth Clarke.
A Conservative junior whip, John Randall, has also resigned his post
in the party.
Mr Cook's Commons deputy Ben Bradshaw was seen going into Downing
Street before the cabinet meeting and speculation was that he will be
asked to make a brief business statement to MPs outlining the
timetable now the peace process with Iraq has been abandoned and war
could begin. 
Mr Cook's decision to quit the cabinet will cost him almost £70,000 a
year in lost pay. 
As Leader of the House of Commons he was entitled to a salary of
£124,979. As a plain backbench MP, his salary will be £55,118 a year.
The former culture secretary Chris Smith mourned the resignation of
Mr Cook, saying having the former Commons leader on the backbenches
left the government "diminished."
Downing Street later announced it would publish in full the letters
of correspondence between the prime minister and Mr Cook.
The shadow foreign secretary, Michael Ancram, said: "While we
understand Robin Cook's reasons for resigning, disunity within the
cabinet is a matter of concern at this time. 
"We hope the prime minister will take further steps to ensure that
his cabinet speaks with one voice." 
The Liberal Democrats' foreign affairs spokesman, Menzies Campbell,
said: "It was always likely that Robin Cook, who sought to introduce
an ethical dimension into foreign policy, would find the ambiguity of
the government's position too much to tolerate." 
Paul Tyler, who speaks on House of Commons affairs for the Liberal
Democrats, added: "The government has lost its most effective Commons
performer. His leadership of the Commons gained him an unrivalled
reputation amongst fellow members. 
"I have no doubt he will be a formidable presence on the
backbenches." 
A handful of protesters shouting "Blair out" brought Whitehall to a
standstill outside the gates to Downing Street as the cabinet met in
emergency session. 
Police blocked off one side of the carriageway as the few protesters
waved placards and blew whistles. 

ma anche in Italia...
Roma, 19 mar. - (Adnkronos) - Il vicepresidente del Senato, 
Domenico Fisichella, a quanto si apprende, non ha votato la mozione
della Cdl sull'Iraq che approva la relazione del presidente del
Consiglio Silvio Berlusconi. 

 wrote:

Fisichella ha sempre dato prova di intelligenza ed indipendenza di
giudizio (non per nulla, nonostante fosse stato proposto, non gli è
stata assegnata nessuna poltrona dalla sua stessa maggioranza).
Piuttosto l' "armata del Papa" in parlamento si è squagliata come neve
al sole. E questi sarebbero quelli che dovrebbero consacrare l'Italia
alla Madonna (© D.B. 2003)? Ma mi faccia il piacere...
-- 
Luca Logi - Firenze - Italy        e-mail: 
ll...@dada.it

'We are risking a gulf between the West and the Islamic world' 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Six years ago, Will Hutton interviewed Robin Cook as he took charge
of the Foreign Office after the 1997 election. Now, he returns with
Kamal Ahmed to hear Cook, in his first major interview since
resigning, tell why he had to go - and warn of the dangers ahead for
foreign policy. 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Will Hutton and Kamal Ahmed
Sunday March 23, 2003
The Observer 
In hearings in the Senate in Washington last week, Richard Lugar, the
Republican chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, recalled the
words of President Teddy Roosevelt. 'Roosevelt prescribed that
America should "speak softly and carry a big stick",' Lugar said. 'In
the present age, we are carrying an incredibly big stick, but we must
be willing to spend more resources on the ability to speak softly.' 
A few thousand miles away in the upstairs drawing room of 1 Carlton
Gardens, London, Robin Cook, former Cabinet member, former Foreign
Secretary and the first person to resign from Tony Blair's Cabinet on
a point of principle, sat and considered the wreckage of a political
career. 
Next to him on a small table was a stuffed stoat, given to him during
the arms to Iraq scandal of the Nineties. Cook led the Opposition
assault on the Conservative Government when the Scott Report revealed
that Ministers had turned a blind eye to possible weapons exports to
Iraq without bothering to inform the public. 
In his first major interview since he resigned last Monday, he looked
at the dead animal and said: 'It's my good luck charm. I suppose
there is a symmetry to it all. I gained my reputation on the issue of
Iraq and I have left the Government over the issue of Iraq.' 
Cook's position is based on more than a disagreement over whether and
when military action should have been taken against Saddam. He
questions the legitimacy of the war, arguing that with more time for
inspectors it could have been avoided. 
But there is also the larger issue of America's role in the world and
how Britain should relate to the elephant over the water. Cook
believes he is seeing a crisis in the world order, once based on an
acceptance that the UN was the ultimate custodian of international
law and now replaced by the desires of the world's first
hyper-power.'America is a hyper-power, it can afford to go it alone,'
Cook said. 'Britain is not a superpower. It is not in our interests
to contribute to a weakening and a sidelining of international bodies
like the Security Council. The Security Council and the system of
world order governed by rules has been badly damaged. 
'There is a suspicion that the speed with which this has moved has
been dictated by American military preparations rather than by the
needs of Britain's diplomatic campaign. That is why it has been so
difficult for Tony to mobilise public opinion and indeed
international opinion.' 
Cook makes it clear that he supports the troops. 'Now the conflict
has started I hope that the operation is successful and that all our
troops will come back,' he says. 
After walking the Norfolk Broads last month and deciding that without
a second UN resolution he could not stay in Cabinet, he says he 'has
been at peace'. There was a clarity, finally, to what he was doing. 
'When I saw Tony last week I made it clear I had made up my mind,' he
said. 'He respected that.' Cook refused to comment on the change of
heart by Clare Short, the International Development Secretary, who
threatened to resign if there were no second resolution. 
But, why did Blair expend so much effort urging Short to stay? 'I
think you put your efforts into persuading people you think are open
to persuasion.' 
Now Cook has been released from Cabinet responsibility, he can say
what he believes: Britain must heal the wounds with Europe,
particularly France and Germany, for any chance of creating a balance
to hyper-power politics, he says. Britain wasbounced into a conflict
in Iraq because of an American military imperative, he says. The Bush
administration does not share the values of Britain or Europe, he
says. If Britain does not find a way to say no to the US then the
concept of international solidarity is dead. 
Cook knows the world is dealing with a new reality of 'pre-emptive
diplomacy', the new American doctrine held dear by Bush and his inner
circle. 
The policy is clear: America will act whenever and wherever it
believes that the target threatens US interests. And the biggest
threat is the support for interna tional terrorism. Any rogue state
is now a legitimate target. 
Within this doctrine is the argument that, if affairs are left to
international institutions such as the UN, there is a greater chance
of prevarication and diplomatic stalemate. America wants to act, and
quickly. Every day that a dictator is left in power, runs the
argument of the American conservatives, is another day when the very
fabric of America is at stake. America will act - with a coalition of
the willing if necessary. On its own if not. Impatience runs through
the thinking. 
'The events of 11 September created an entirely new sense, not only
in America but around the world, of the priority and urgency of
dealing with international terrorism,' Cook said. 'It had a
particularly powerful effect on American society because they are not
accustomed to war coming to them. 
'But, if you take a response to 9/11 as being a driving force of the
American approach to international affairs, I would strongly argue
that one of the greatest assets that came out of that was the
extraordinarily rich and powerfully diverse coalition against
international terrorism.' 
That coalition, according to Cook, has now been shattered on the
altar of pre-emptive diplomacy. America has long planned to attack
Iraq and splits in the UN, Nato and in the European Union were a
price worth paying. 
'Now, I'm not an American politician but if I was I would be
inveighing against the extent to which the Bush administration had
allowed that terrific asset to disintegrate,' Cook said. 
'Instead the US is left embarking on military action from a position
of diplomatic weakness, unable to get any major international
organisation to agree with it. We are heading for a very serious risk
of a big gulf between the Western and Islamic world. That seems to me
to have thrown away a powerful asset for the US which relates to its
number one security concern.' 
How far away Cook must feel from those heady days after Labour's 1997
election victory. Then, in an interview with The Observer, Cook, just
installed as the first Labour Foreign Secretary for 18 years, spoke
of a new world order built on international consensus. 
'We want to take Britain out of a position of isolationism,' he said.
'[We want to be] a leading member of the international community.
Personally I think we are entering a period when international
politics is coming of age.' 
He believes there were a number of years of progress when Blair
shared a world vision with Bill Clinton, whose administration agreed
with Britain's 'fundamental values'. But Britain's closeness to the
Bush administration over Iraq is flawed. 
'What changed in the last two years is that we are dealing with the
Bush administration and there are people in that administration who
don't care for any multilateral system committed to security and
development,' he said. 
'The State Department [the US Foreign Office] is very weak. The Rice,
Cheney, Rumsfeld axis is the motor of the Bush administration. They
do not allow much space for [Colin] Powell [Secretary of State].' 
Of Bush's Axis of Evil speech, when he named Iraq, Iran and North
Korea as the enemies of the free world, Cook says, archly, that
'whoever wrote it' was ignorant of the realities. 
'The immediate effect of the speech was to achieve a major reverse
for the reformers in Iran,' he said, pointing out that the ayatollahs
used the speech to attack America and democratic forces at home. 'If
we are going to have a multilateral system we've all got to have
ownership of what the priorities are going to be.' 
Cook says that Britain now finds itself in a diplomatic position
'that it will come to regret'. Too close to America, too far away
from Europe. 
'Where should we be looking for the future direction of Britain's
strategic international relations, for me the answer is Europe, to
make sure that we are a major player and we are passionate that
Europe speaks with a strong voice which means we try and speak
without a divided voice,' he said. 
'There are many reasons for that but the need to have an alternative
pole, not a rival, but an alternative pole within international
affairs is one of them. I have always been strongly committed to a
multilateral system. We must respect international institutions. 
'We need to engage in an international community that can bring to
international forums and state with clarity the type of European
values that are certainly not shared by many of those in the Bush
administration,' he said. 
'Firstly a respect for multilateral protocols, secondly if we are
going to achieve a world governed by rules then we need to respect
international process. There are two other European themes: a respect
for global environmentalism and that the priorities of the
international community reflect the massive priority of tackling
poverty. 
'We are not going to win the international war against terrorism
unless we also win the international war against poverty.' 
He suggests that when Bush decided push had come to shove, Britain
should have said no. The inspectors needed more time, and Britain
should have been strong enough to say so. 'Tony genuinely believed he
could deliver unity behind the US for confrontation and that this
unity in itself would produce sufficient progress on the part of Iraq
that would have averted war,' Cook said. 
'One of the reasons we didn't get that unity was because people felt
that there was an impatience on the part of America to push the pace
at which other countries would not readily go. 
'Also, there were some noises off from the US which undermined our
diplomatic effort. Calling France and Germany Old Europe was not
helpful to what the British diplomats were trying to secure. 
'One lesson is that although we must maintain our traditional
alliance with America while it has an administration which does not
share our world view or our values we have to make sure that we keep
enough distance, that there is an option for Britain to come to a
different conclusion.' 
Cook and his stuffed stoat will soon be moving out of the Government
apartment he has lived in since 1997. He expects that resignation is
'a one way street' and it is unlikely that he will ever return. And
each day he will watch the bombing live on television certain in the
belief that it could all have been avoided.