Paul Bradford (Fine Gael)

Senator Norris will have an opportunity to reply.

Saddam Hussein was not forced to use poisonous gas against his people. He has played ducks and drakes with the United Nations since 1991. I have no doubt that his regime is not fully co-operating with the current weapons inspection in Iraq.

Colin Powell presented an assessment to the Security Council yesterday. I am sure it will not satisfy everybody. Any reasonable student would have to concede many questions remain to be asked and answered. If it is a question of credibility, I would tend to take the words of Colin Powell rather than those of Saddam Hussein who has raised a smokescreen over his activities and plans since 1991.

We must concentrate, at this stage, on what the United Nations must do. It must be centre stage in resolving this dispute. It is paramount, not only to the current dispute but to future conflicts worldwide, that the United Nations does not lose its nerve or purpose. The demands made of the United Nations regarding Iraq have, clearly, not been met. I am in favour of giving the weapons inspectors more time to come up with the answers but the international community must send out a clear and strong message that Iraq must disarm and must do so now.

The relevance and value of the United Nations will be judged not by its ability to keep the United States from going it alone but by its ability to enforce on Saddam Hussein the checks and restrictions sought since 1991. It is important for us that the United Nations remains a powerful vehicle for progress and peace. It must not be white-washed by Saddam Hussein on a continual basis, as has happened since 1991.

We have experienced too much unwillingness in the 20th century on the part of the international community to deal with dictators and tyrants, resulting in war and strife on a savage scale. If the United Nations is to keep the peace and restore order it must operate from a position of unity and strength. The international community, which in the last century did not deal with tyrants such as Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot and others would be making a very dangerous start to the new millennium by failing to deal with the Iraqi dictator.

We must look at where we go from here. A second UN resolution must be sought if the Iraqi response to the weapons inspectorate is not sufficiently clear. It is important from the United Nations point of view that a second resolution is agreed. The European Union has a key role to play in this and it would be helpful if it had a united voice. The difference between European countries is one of emphasis rather than major policy and that was evidenced last week when a number of them signed a letter – we were not asked to do so – in that regard.