British Prime Minister Tony Blair and President Clinton meet in the Oval Office Thursday morning (AP Photo)

By Maureen Johnson
Associated Press Writer
Friday, February 6, 1998; 12:10 a.m. EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Clinton and British Prime Minister Tony Blair emphasized solidarity on common Anglo-American goals today, issuing a new tough warning to Iraq’s Saddam Hussein that they are prepared to use military strikes if needed to force compliance with weapons inspections.

''We must be prepared to act, and we are,'' Clinton said.

Standing side by side at a joint White House news conference, both leaders said they were in complete agreement on the readiness to use force in Iraq, even though the United States and Britain are the only major powers to endorse such a course.

For his part, Blair announced that Britain is sending eight Tornado jet warplanes to Kuwait in case they are needed. ''These are ground attack and reconnaissance aircraft,'' Blair said. ''It will take place over the next few days.''

The news conference came during Blair’s first official visit to Washington since he was elected last May.

Pledged to stand together in good times and in bad, both sought to emphasize policy over personal controversy. Blair deflected questions to him about the sexual misconduct allegations that have rocked Clinton’s presidency.

''I believe it is absolutely essential we stay focused,'' Blair said. He said the British people are more interested in his work on issues like schools, jobs, crime, living standards — and that in the end, history will judge both him and Clinton on their performance.

In opening remarks, Clinton said that he and Blair shared ''common values, common visions.'' He said both were committed to ''preparing our own countries for the future.''

Blair said the two leaders, in talks on Thursday, had discussed Iraq, the peace process in the Middle East, Bosnia, the global economy, the Asian financial crisis and the importance for Europe to establish closer ties with Turkey.

Blair cited a ''great comradeship and partnership'' between the two countries.

On Iraq, both Clinton and Blair said they were still hopeful for a diplomatic solution to the standoff. ''Whether there is a diplomatic solution or not is entirely up to Saddam Hussein.''

''This man is the only repeat offender with chemical weapons,'' Clinton said.

''I don’t believe we need to fight the Gulf War,'' Clinton added. But he said the issue was ''that very sharp question'' about the necessity to permit U.N. weapons inspectors into Iraq.

Said Blair: ''We have to prepare in case diplomacy cannot work.''

The two leaders and their wives were to spent tonight at Camp David, the presidential retreat in Maryland’s Catoctin Mountains.

Earlier, at a breakfast for 200 people with Vice President Al Gore as host, Blair said that he and Clinton shared a political ideology that was spreading around the world. ''When I spell out the key themes of the British government, there will be familiar echoes to much of what you are doing here,'' Blair said. ''And these same echoes can be heard, sometimes faint, sometimes louder, around the Western world.''

Gore said that Britain and the United States are ''working beyond the broken ideologies of the past to achieve real results for our people. Our nations are working in tandem to create effective and efficient 21st century governments.''

Blair’s first official trip to Washington since his left-of-center Labor Party won power last May already appears to be another lift in his buoyant political fortunes.

Clinton and Blair, midway through a three-day visit that was not expected to produce any major initiatives, have heaped on each other the most fulsome praise exchanged between American and British leaders since President Reagan and Margaret Thatcher held power in the 1980s.

Through a day of meetings followed by a night of glittering entertainment at the White House on Thursday, the two men cemented a joint determination to launch an air attack on Iraq unless it destroys its U.N.-forbidden arsenal of weapons.

In private, British officials said, Clinton and Blair debated the logistics of an Iraqi attack. Publicly, they bored in on Saddam’s potential capability to wreak global havoc with chemical and biological weapons.

''We have stood together before in the face of tyranny,'' Blair said. ''Today in the face of the threat from Saddam Hussein, we must stand together once more.''

As fellow members of the post-World War II generation who won power by moving their parties to the center, Clinton, 51, declared that he and 44-year-old Blair shared ''an unbreakable bond.''

''If you look at the things we have in common ... it’s not surprising that there’s a very good personal chemistry between us,'' Clinton said. ''I think it’s good for the people of your country and for the people of our country that we recognize that we share values, we share interests, we have a common vision.''

On Thursday night, 240 guests — the powerful and the glamorous — were at a hot-ticket White House dinner and dance for Blair and his wife, Cherie.

Entertainers Elton John and Stevie Wonder rocked the White House in a party reflecting a style of baby boomers in power — in contrast to the formal state banquets.