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style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA">Internal
NATO divisions over Iraq have become publicly acrimonious, partly because the
frustrated Bush administration was expecting quick French and German assent to
its war plans. </SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA">The
two leading European governments may still capitulate in the end, but for now,
they have blocked US plans to prepare the alliance for war, and unveiled a plan
– hatched in secret consultations with the Chinese and Russians – to strengthen
the UN inspection teams in Iraq. </SPAN></DIV>
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style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA">Although
the US claims the support of the British and most European governments, notably
those from the former Soviet bloc, public opinion across the continent is
massively against war. This has encouraged the independent stance of the Chirac
and Schroeder governments, and is fuelling the American antiwar movement – two
factors which even the Bush administration can't ignore. The February
15th global antiwar demonstrations have thus assumed increased importance.
</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA">If
you can't access the newspaper sites directly, I've posted three articles on <A
href="http://www.supportingfacts.com">www.supportingfacts.com</A>: the first,
from The Guardian, reports on the Europe-US diplomatic row; the second, from the
Sunday Observer, describes the dramatic growth of the British antiwar
movement; and the third, from the Los Angeles Times, highlights
France's leading role. </SPAN></DIV></BODY></HTML>