May 12, 2003, Seattle Times, British minister quits, berates Blair on Iraq,

International Development Secretary Clare Short branded as "shameful" a draft U.N. Security Council resolution on Iraq that is being proposed by the Bush administration and Prime Minister Tony Blair's government.

She told the House of Commons that Britain had gone back on its commitment to support a major U.N. role in Iraq and was colluding with the United States "in trying to bully the Security Council into a resolution that gives the coalition the power to establish an Iraqi government and control the use of oil" while providing "only a minor role for the U.N."

Britain should instead help guide the United States into supporting international institutions, said Short. "American power alone cannot make America safe," she said, adding that "undermining international law and the authority of the U.N. creates a risk of instability, bitterness and growing terrorism that will threaten the future for all of us."

Short is the second Cabinet member to resign over Iraq. Robin Cook, who served as foreign secretary and party parliamentary leader, quit before the war began.

Baroness Amos, currently minister for Africa, will replace Short in the Cabinet, Blair's office said. Born Valerie Amos in Guyana, she becomes Britain's second black Cabinet minister. Paul Boateng, appointed chief secretary to the Treasury last year, was the first.

Before the war, Short opposed military action in Iraq, calling Blair's policies "reckless" and threatening to resign. But then she rescinded the threat. Her stature has been fading in recent weeks and she was widely expected to step down — or be fired — later this year.

Her resignation has exacerbated Blair's political problems with members of his ruling Labor Party who were not comfortable with British participation in the war and who now want the United Nations to take a major role in rebuilding the country and establishing an interim government.

Short's main objection was a legal one: She said that under international conventions governing military occupations, the United States and Britain did not have the authority to establish an interim Iraqi government or set the terms for adopting a new Iraqi constitution. Only the Security Council had such authority, she said.

But she also objected to the way the draft resolution was handled, contending that Blair, Foreign Secretary Jack Straw and a handful of advisers had secretly negotiated the draft with the Bush administration without consulting her and other Cabinet colleagues. She accused Blair of reneging on personal assurances to her that he would seek a U.N. mandate to establish a legitimate Iraqi government.

Short also said Blair increasingly was bypassing the Cabinet and Parliament and centralizing power in his own hands. The result, she said, was "undermining the people's respect for our political system." Blair had achieved "great things" since becoming prime minister in 1997, she told the House of Commons in a bitter resignation speech, "but paradoxically he is in danger of destroying his legacy as he becomes increasingly obsessed by his place in history."

In a resignation letter, Short wrote to Blair that "the assurances you gave me about the need for a U.N. mandate to establish a legitimate Iraqi government have been breached."

Blair's government praised Short as a leader who had transformed and strengthened Britain's foreign-aid program and expressed surprise and regret over her remarks.

In a letter responding to Short, Blair said, "I am afraid I do not understand your point about the U.N." He emphasized his support for U.N. involvement in rebuilding Iraq but did not mention a political role for the world body.

The draft plan would give U.N. approval to a U.S.-British occupation of Iraq for at least a year and give the powers control of Iraqi oil wealth for rebuilding. The United Nations would appoint a coordinator to advise the U.S.-British coalition, mostly on humanitarian issues. Spain and Britain co-sponsored the resolution.

Short, 57, is known for her blunt talk and was widely seen as the most prominent liberal in Blair's centrist Cabinet. She keeps her parliamentary seat and is unlikely to have trouble holding it in elections expected in 2005.

Information from The Associated Press and The Washington Post is included in this report.