Iraq attack unjustified, says Bush ally

The first cracks began to show in American solidarity for a military campaign against Saddam Hussein yesterday after a top-ranking Republican on Capitol Hill bluntly argued that any unilateral attack would be unjustified and would lose the United States friends around the world.

Dick Armey, the majority leader of the House of Representatives, made his intervention as members of six Iraqi opposition groups were preparing for two days of talks with members of the Bush administration.

The Iraqi groups, based either in London or Iran, were set to urge the US to press ahead with plans to dislodge President Saddam by force. President George Bush has vowed to force a "regime change" in Iraq, but officials insist no decision has been made on launching an attack.

A new CBS Television poll showed two thirds of Americans supporting an attack on Iraq in principle. But a similar number said that the US first needs to gain the support of other nations – a task that looks increasingly tricky – and that Mr Bush needs to consult Congress first.

While the mood in Congress seems to be strongly in favour of toppling President Saddam, the comments of Mr Armey, a highly influential figure on Capitol Hill, will be unsettling for the White House. He said he did not think President Saddam had yet done enough to warrant US action.

"Let him bluster, let him rant and rave all he wants," Mr Armey, a staunch conservative and Bush ally, said, when asked by reporters about the prospect of targeting President Saddam. "As long as he behaves himself within his own borders, we should not be addressing any attack against him."

"If we try to act against Saddam Hussein without proper provocation, we will not have the support of other nation states," he said. "We, as Americans, don't make unprovoked attacks against other nations." Mr Armey added that deadlock over United Nations attempts to send weapons inspectors back into Iraq would be insufficient to justify a military response. "In my estimation it is not enough reason to go in," he said.

The Iraqi opposition leaders, by contrast, were insisting that any military assault on the country would quickly doom President Saddam. "The entirety of Iraq is opposed to Saddam Hussein," said Sharif Ali, a member of the London-based Iraqi National Congress. "It is clear that the US can easily overthrow the regime of Saddam Hussein."