Celebrities take sides over war on Saddam

Published on Saturday 28 September 2002 01:00

THE Hollywood stars Tom Cruise and Steven Spielberg have joined a growing celebrity debate over the impending war on Iraq, praising Tony Blair and George Bush’s pro-military policies.

Talking at the premire of the blockbuster film Minority Report in Rome, the two bucked a recent celebrity trend opposing military intervention, asserting it was high time to depose of Saddam Hussein forcibly.

"If Bush, as I believe, has reliable information on the fact that Saddam Hussein is making weapons of mass destruction, I cannot not support the policies of his government," said Spielberg, 55.

The director of films such as Saving Private Ryan and Schindler’s List added that those policies were "solid and rooted in reality".

Cruise, 40, also spoke out in support of the US president. "Personally, I don’t have all the information President Bush has," the actor said. "But I believe Saddam has committed many crimes against humanity and his own people."

In contrast, the singer and actress Barbra Streisand has taken an anti-war stance. Streisand - such a fervent supporter of the former president Bill Clinton that there were rumours of an affair - recently urged the Democrat congressional leader, Richard Gephardt, and other Democrats to "get off the defensive and go on the offensive".

In a message posted on a political website, Streisand, 60, added: "Don’t ignore the obvious influence of the Bush administration of such special interests as the oil industry, the chemical companies and the logging industry ... just to name a few."

Last week, the actresses Jane Fonda and Susan Sarandon were among 4,000 people who protested against Bush’s policies in a newspaper and internet manifesto headlined "Not In Our Name".

Fonda first dabbled in anti-war politics in the Sixties and Seventies when she protested against the Vietnam War.

A group of UK stars, including the playwright Harold Pinter, the film director Ken Loach and the musician Brian Eno recently set out their opposition to the war, delivering an open letter to Downing Street.