Clare Short: 'At times like this a lot of men go mad...'

A few weeks ago the Secretary of State for International Development, Clare Short, had a wobble in the "war on terrorism". She was worried that the US might retaliate with dangerous haste, and said so in public. For the time being, at least, she has stopped wobbling.

Instead Ms Short is an active member of Tony Blair's "war" cabinet, although as we discover later, she refuses to apply such an emotive adjective to the gathering of senior ministers. "Yes, I did have worries. We may have killed a lot of innocent people through lashing out quickly. We needed to move very carefully. The delay before the action was very important. I was worried that we would have the wrong strategy. Now we have the right strategy."

Clare Short is speaking at her department near Victoria station. She has been there since the election in 1997, the only elected cabinet minister to have stayed in the same job, apart from Gordon Brown. Coincidentally, Ms Short is one of the few cabinet ministers to enjoy a harmonious relationship with the mighty Chancellor. For many years, she has been a fan of Mr Brown's while he has been supportive during her difficult periods on and off the front bench.

Her department is situated a mile away from the Foreign Office and the Ministry of Defence but, for all the attention on the military onslaught, Ms Short is at the sharp end, the end where more lives are threatened by hunger than by any destruction brought about by the bombers.

"A third of the population in Afghanistan are at risk of starvation. There is a real danger of famine. We've got to move masses of food into the country in the next five or six weeks, to feed people now and then to give them stocks to take them through the winter. At the moment we are dropping 500 tons every day. We need to double that. People are in much more danger from the threat of famine than from the military action."

She supports the military action, but only in the context of very clear "war aims". "Some Tory frontbenchers and voices in America have said why not look for other countries to attack, but this has to be brought to an elegant end as quickly as possible. If it went wrong, the situation around the world could be very dangerous indeed."

There can be no disagreement about that last sentence. But the words that precede it are striking: An elegant end? A quick end? The hopeful adjectives seem out of place in the chaos of the international crisis. They seem to inspire Ms Short, however. "The real endgame is a new, inclusive government for Afghanistan."

Does that rule out the possibility of the Northern Alliance seizing power? "That's right. It can't be a case of simply the Northern Alliance taking control. An inclusive process under the auspices of the UN is essential. I know it is easy to say those words. Doing it will be quite something, but it can be done. It's the only way to a successful outcome."

Has the "war cabinet" discussed the objectives in such precise terms – limiting the military campaign to Afghanistan and ruling out the Northern Alliance as an alternative government to the Taliban? She shuffles uneasily. "I don't think it should be called a war cabinet. We call it the special cabinet in this department. Military action is only a small part of the strategy. At times like this the media and a lot of men go mad. It's all those toys they played with when they were children. But there are broader principles in place relating to our limited objectives in Afghanistan and the humanitarian effort."

They have discussed the limited objectives, the importance of not widening the war aims beyond Afghanistan, in the special cabinet and elsewhere.

"I shouldn't talk about the meetings of the special cabinet. It's meant to be all very secret, but then Alastair [Campbell] briefs it all to you in the media anyway. The special cabinet has only met once. There has been discussion in the full cabinet as well and separate discussions with Tony. There is no doubt about the strategy and its limits."

Clare Short is a barometer figure for some in her party. She resigned from the front bench in opposition over the leadership's support for the Gulf war. But for now she is committed.

"If I thought it was wrong, I wouldn't stay in government. I wouldn't speak in the Commons or to you now if I thought it was wrong. I just wouldn't do it."

As if to prove it, she still speaks out on related matters, such as the notorious memo from Jo Moore, Stephen Byers' spin doctor, which suggested that the aftermath of the attack on the World Trade Centre was the moment to release controversial information.

"I hate all that spin stuff. I disapprove of it. It's so cynical. It upsets everyone and cynicism destroys politics."

She prefers to deliver straight messages rather than to rely on what she once famously called the "people in the dark". She even admits that she wants Gordon Brown to find her some more money for the humanitarian efforts in Afghanistan, on top of the additional cash she has already extracted.

"I can't take money from my existing budget, so Gordon and I will be talking a lot. I need a bit more money, but not too much, Gordon. Honestly!" She laughs. He may not appreciate the joke.