Much of the debate has referred to the rights and wrongs of war. Listening to some of the debate one would be forgiven for being confused at times that Saddam Hussein was a fantastic person who had great care and regard for his people. However, we know that is not the case, as some speakers have already alluded to. The argument that the United States armed Saddam Hussein over a number of years and was an ally at one stage seems to go unchallenged. It is a great strength of any democratic society to recognise that it may have been wrong in the past and that mistakes may have been made. When the United States was allied with Iraq during its war with Iran, matters were different at which stage I have no doubt that Saddam did not indicate his ultimate intentions. It is unfair to criticise the Americans for being part of a bloc of nations that succeeded in putting him where he is today. We must get over this and recognise that foreign policy and directions of countries change, that mistakes have been made and seek to redress them and ensure they do not happen again.