Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)

We were not prepared to participate but the subsequent resolutions were put in place and, although they were not unanimously accepted originally, they are now unanimously accepted year on year. This has happened in particular at the request of the Iraqi Government, which seeks to have the continued presence of the multinational force to supplement the increasing level of Iraqi ability to secure its own territory.

We know from our situation that despite some of the most horrific and unfortunate recent events in Iraq, the level of violence across the entire country is much lower than it was, which we should welcome. Before Christmas, the Iraqi Foreign Minister briefed EU Foreign Ministers and painted a relatively good picture. To a certain extent, some of us would have been a bit sceptical, but there has been a significant reduction in the level of violence there.

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