Prime Minister Tony Blair vigorously denied on Thursday that U.S. and British attacks on Iraq were timed to deflect the impeachment vote against President Clinton in the U.S. House of Representatives.
“I refute that entirely,” he told the House of Commons, thumping the lectern to a murmur of approval from members of Parliament. “I have no doubt at all that action is justified now.”
He said Mr. Clinton had arrived at the same conclusion, adding: “Had he acted differently, he would have been in dereliction of his duty as president of the United States. ... He has shown the courage to act, and he has my full support.”
Mr. Blair's intervention in an American domestic political matter was highly unusual and a measure of his deep admiration for his partner in the bombing campaign, which goes back to the friendship they struck up after Mr. Blair's 1997 election.
The prime minister spoke as British Tornado bombers were attacking targets in Iraq, the first time they have been in action. Air Marshal John Day, deputy chief of the British Defense Staff, said all planes taking part in the “first wave” of attacks had returned safely to their base in Kuwait.
British newspapers almost uniformly backed the prime minister's action. The tabloid Sun, Britain's biggest-selling daily newspaper, carried an editorial headed, “Zap Saddam, Save World.”
U.S. security at highest level
Federal authorities have raised security to its highest level at even more government and commercial facilities as a precaution against possible terrorist retaliation for U.S. airstrikes in Iraq.
From Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles to Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, bomb-sniffing dogs worked the streets and barricades restricted movement Thursday around key government installations.
Attorney General Janet Reno declined to comment on whether the actions were in response to a specific threat.
“What we try to do in all of these instances is take what precautions we can to ensure that we do whatever is possible to protect the institutions and the people of this country,” Ms. Reno said.
Meanwhile, Washington ordered the evacuation of some Americans associated with its embassies in Israel and Kuwait on Thursday, concerned they might be caught in the crossfire if Saddam Hussein decides to retaliate for the airstrikes.
Russians ask Lewinsky to intercede
Russian legislators considered a motion Thursday appealing to Monica Lewinsky to help halt the American attack on Iraq.
“The State Duma appeals to Ms. Lewinsky to undertake corresponding measures to restrain the emotions of Bill Clinton,” said the motion by nationalist lawmaker Alexander Filatov.
Lawmakers in the Duma, the lower chamber of parliament, considered including the motion in a broader resolution denouncing the attack on Iraq. But seeking to speed up passage, they approved it later without additions. There was no separate vote on the Lewinsky amendment.
President Boris Yeltsin also denounced the United States and Britain on Thursday for attacking Iraq and demanded an immediate end to the bombing. Russia then recalled its ambassador to the United States in protest.
Arab leaders oppose bombing
The same Arab states that backed threatened military action against the Baghdad regime last month showed little stomach for the real thing on Thursday.
Arab leaders across the region called for a cessation of the bombing.
Meeting in Amman, Jordan's Crown Prince Hassan and Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat made a joint appeal for an end to the airstrikes, saying the assault could lead to the break-up of Iraq and could further complicate the peace process with Israel
U.N. staffers wait out bombing
For the second night, 134 U.N. staffers left behind when weapons inspectors pulled out of Baghdad earlier this week took shelter Thursday in a converted hotel on the outskirts of the Iraqi capital as missiles shook nearby streets. The workers retreated to the hotel's basement, where they waited out the attack.
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