Fed: World more at risk if Iraq ignored - Howard

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Fed: World more at risk if Iraq ignored - Howard

CANBERRA, Feb 14 AAP - The world was more at risk from ignoring Iraq's contempt forthe international community than by confronting it, Prime Minister John Howard said today.

Speaking in London during his current visiting tour of world leaders, Mr Howard saidit was important for Iraq to understand it was approaching the end game.

"If we leave this issue and hope it will go away, the world runs the enormous riskthat you will have a fatal marriage of weapons of mass destruction and international terrorism,"

he told ABC Radio.

"It's more likely if those weapons proliferate into the hands of rogue states.

"If we don't deal with Iraq, other rogue states will say, if they can get away withit, so can we.

"Once you get that, you have a spreading, a proliferation and the possibility of themgetting into the hands of terrorists must increase."

Mr Howard said discovery of illegal Iraqi missiles capable of delivering chemical andbiological warheads was another example of Iraqi cheating and defiance of the UN securitycouncil, as well as Iraqi contempt for international opinion.

"I don't want to say any more than that and it's up to the inspectors to confirm, orvary or deny the reports," he said.

"But if they are correct, then Iraq is further in contempt of her international obligations.

"Iraq's attitude is she doesn't really care about international opinion and only bendsto it when there's no alternative and there's pressure applied."

Mr Howard warned time was running out.

"We are approaching the end game, that's right. It's important that Iraq understandthat," he said.

"If there is to be a faint hope of peace, then it will only be achieved if the internationalcommunity together says the same thing to Iraq, says it strongly, says it soon."

He said North Korea was a very big threat but, because of that, it did not mean theworld should forget about Iraq.

"Indeed, if you were to do that, you would in fact increase the threat from North Korea.

"North Korea is more likely to act aggressively if the world is weak about Iraq."

AAP dep/gl/de

KEYWORD: IRAQ AUST HOWARD LEAD