US security concerns since the Sept. 11 attacks have shifted to fears of a likely attack by Iraq using weapons of mass destruction, said Stephen Bosworth, Washington’s envoy to Manila from 1984 to 1987.
Bosworth is currently dean of the Massachusetts-based Fletcher School of Diplomacy and has been named by President Arroyo in her advisory council.
As concern takes shape "we are moving inexorably toward military engagement" to ensure that Iraq does not develop or use weapons of mass destruction, Bosworth told reporters before a meeting with the President.
The chance of US military action against Iraq "between now and the end of February is now 70-30 percent, perhaps even more than that," he said.
Bush has "made efforts" either to remove Saddam from power or to create a situation that would force a change in power, Bosworth noted.
If the Iraqi threat continues, the US will be "militarily engaged...hopefully in coalition with other countries," Bosworth said.
Mrs. Arroyo, a staunch US ally in the Southeast Asian region, last month said her government backed US charges brought before the UN accusing Iraq of possession of weapons of mass destruction.
Manila was prepared to extend "political, security and humanitarian assistance to the United States" in its fight against terrorism, the President had said.
Early this year, Mrs. Arroyo allowed the deployment of hundreds of US military advisers to help in the fight against the Muslim Abu Sayyaf rebel group in Mindanao, which both governments have linked to Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaeda network.
Arroyo spokesman Ignacio Bunye said Manila’s position on Iraq "has not changed" but said government will make another announcement "if and when the US takes such action" referring to a unilateral military strike. – Aurea Calica, AFP