Jim Walsh (Fianna Fail)

To echo the sentiments of all Members, war is always unwelcome. It is the innocent and civilians who generally suffer more in times of conflict. If we subscribe to the notion that human life is inviolate, we must agree that war dispenses with that maxim.

Undoubtedly, Saddam Hussein has been a brutal dictator. Whether he is the worst in the world or not is a problematic question. There may well be others who have exceeded his excesses. Without in any way condoning his regime, I am mindful that his presence in Iraq has to some extent contributed towards a semblance of stability in that troubled region. The war, in current circumstances, is premature. There was still time for weapons inspectors to carry out their functions and for diplomacy. Most people in Europe would agree with that. It would probably not have concluded in any more satisfactory a manner than it did, but would have upheld the principle that war is a last resort. There is a notion that war, at present, is being conducted for reasons of expediency rather than because all avenues of peaceful resolution have been exhausted.

If we are to welcome anything about the war, it should be that until now it appears to have been conducted with some degree of restraint. I know that truth is the first casualty of war, but we have not seen the indiscriminate bombing that we might initially have expected. This course of action, however, was probably a political imperative. Since the first Gulf War we have seen the emergence of al-Qaeda, which is probably the biggest threat to human civilisation we have seen for a long time. That this is a global threat was highlighted by the appalling atrocities of 11 September 2001 in Washington and New York, which resulted in the loss of many innocent lives. The world must be seen to stand against such wanton terrorism.