Paul Bradford (Fine Gael)

All we can do in this House is to state our firm political view that the United States must improve its human rights record in Iraq. That is one side of the story, but the other side is the ongoing campaign of terror and warfare being conducted in Iraq. The Minister of State pointed out, quite rightly, that there are three different groups involved — the Iraqi nationalists, elements of the old regime, and Islamic radicals and fundamentalists.

The position of the Iraqi nationalists is understandable. They want a country devoid of foreign troops and foreign intervention at the earliest opportunity. The way to ensure that will happen is through the establishment of a proper political process in Iraq. We must all work towards that goal. The disaffected elements of the old regime have lost a lot and continue to have much more to lose. They hanker for the days of the old regime but they should understand that there will be no return to the past.

The Islamic radicals and fundamentalists, however, are the people who concentrate our minds most profoundly because their project does not concern Iraq alone. The route map of Islamic fundamentalism is not simply about freeing Iraq of American troops — it is about a much greater and more profound attack on any civilisation that does not share its militant Islamic view of the world.

It is important to state that there is no connection between Islamic fundamentalism and the millions of peace-loving, honourable, decent Muslims around the world. Many such Muslims in Europe have suffered greatly as a result of the attacks on 11 September 2001. To some extent, they have all fallen under a degree of suspicion, which is unfair. The vast majority of Muslims worldwide offers absolutely no support to the Islamic fundamentalist movement. The latter is as removed from the Muslim religion as extreme IRA elements are removed from the average Irish person.

Nonetheless, Islamic fundamentalism requires serious political attention because that group has a political ambition to bring an end to western civilisation as we know it. That might not sound politically correct, but——