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 The thought of instigating precipitate, unilateral military action against Iraq is appalling; Britain should not contemplate it. One hundred and forty Labour MPs don't think so either - they've signed a Commons motion calling for restraint.
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Opinion in the country is divided - but what unites a growing number of people is a fear of where all this loose talk will lead. Much of Fleet Street has reservations too, with the re-launched Daily Mirror leading the Jaw-Jaw party. The War-War party on the other hand comprises the Opposition front bench, the Prime Minister and some of his colleagues. Some of his colleagues, note, because now we read that Labour's heir apparent to the leadership, Gordon Brown, is concerned at the effect that an extension of President Bush's 'war on terrorism' will have on the world economy and oil prices in particular.
Yet scratch any Government Minister and they will privately tell you they fully expect Britain to be at war with Iraq, perhaps as early as the autumn - once the little local difficulty in Israel/Palestine can be quietly forgotten.
Saddam Hussein's regime is as brutal as it is dictatorial. But economic sanctions against Iraq have only hit the poorest and the weakest. Britain and America have never stopped bombing Iraq since the end of the Gulf War. There is precious little left to bomb - and Saddam is still in power. I am off to Iraq shortly to witness at first hand the suffering of ordinary people - under the regime and under sanctions.
If Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction, the Israelis would surely have launched their own attacks by now. But no. Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, currently poses more of a danger to World peace than the Iraqi regime. And in contravention of numerous United Nations Security Council resolutions, Sharon's military adventure in the West Bank has not provoked Britain or America to demand military and economic sanctions against Israel. When - many now ask - will the first suicide bombers strike in London?
On Monday, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons met in The Hague. The sole item on the agenda was the American motion to dismiss the recently unanimously re-elected Director, Brazilian diplomat Joe Bustani. His crime? Trying to insist that the US had to be inspected, just like everyone else...while also insisting that the Iraqis sign on to the treaty - thus potentially thwarting the American march on Baghdad. Threatening to withhold their dues, the Americans, who had privately asked him to resign, had him sacked.
Post September 11, President Bush had the world on his side. Now his war against terrorism has become a grudge match, with a list of targets to match. The grotesque irony is that Saddam's regime is a US creation, in common with many other ruthless dictators elevated to power with American connivance during the Cold War.
Britain and Europe need to plough a different furrow...acting as a bridge between a strident America and a restive Middle East. This could be our last chance of averting the coming 100-year war. We have to take it.
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RELATED LINKS | | | - Tribune
- Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons
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