UK says Iraq threat must be faced

Cheney, right, met Blair en route to a Middle East tour of 11 countries

LONDON, England -- UK Prime Minister Tony Blair has said the threat posed to world peace by Saddam Hussein "will have to be addressed."

Speaking after talks in London with U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney on the six-month anniversary of the September 11 attacks, Blair said no decisions had been taken on how to proceed in the wider campaign against terrorism.

He said there was "no doubt" that Saddam Hussein posed a threat but insisted the international coalition against terrorism would take action against Iraq in a "calm and measured way."

But he added: "There is a threat from Saddam Hussein and the weapons of mass destruction that he has acquired. It is not in doubt at all."

Cheney, who arrived in the UK on Sunday at the start of a 10-day trip that will also take him to nine Arab countries, Turkey and Israel, said Washington was concerned about the "potential marriage" between terrorist organisations like al Qaeda and states which were acquiring weapons of mass destruction.

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Cheney refused to speculate on any future military action but added: "There is a lot of evidence he is continuing to develop weapons of mass destruction."

The vice-president also reminded Blair that he had promised America: "We were with you at the first and we will be with you at the last."

He said the U.S. was determined to "express the continuing resolve of our coalition (against terror) for a long campaign to deny terrorists sanctuary anywhere in the world."

He said: "Tomorrow I head to Jordan, the first of 11 Middle Eastern countries on this trip. With the governments of that region I will be discussing the current actions of the coalition.

"We will confer as well about the threat of weapons of mass destruction and the important choices that await us in the days ahead."

Cheney is accompanied by a top U.S. State Department official on Middle East issues, the White House's top counter-terrorism official, and Gen. Tommy Franks, head of U.S. Central Command in Afghanistan.

In addition to Britain, Cheney, accompanied by his wife, Lynne, will visit countries including Israel, Oman, Egypt, Yemen, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Qatar, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Turkey.

Iraqi Vice President Taha Yassin Ramadan said on Sunday his country would never allow U.N. weapons inspectors to return, accusing them of spying, according to the official Iraqi News Agency.