Malcolm Bruce

Liberal Democrats | Gordon

Debate on Iraq

Given that military action is now inevitable, we must of course back our troops and hope the outcome is as swift and clean as is possible in a wartime situation. Nevertheless, even if there is minimal loss of life, the consequence of the position we have now arrived at means the international community is fractured in a way not witnessed since the end of the Second World War.

Britain and the United States have not persuaded the international community and the majority of their populations. This is largely because they have failed to present coherent and consistent arguments. They firstly tried to justify regime change due to the (widely acknowledged) atrocities Saddam Hussein has inflicted on his own people. They then tried to link military action to the fight against terrorism. Finally, they cited the need of disarming Saddam Hussein of his weapons of mass destruction. Only this last argument can legally justify a strike against Iraq, but only if it is undertaken as a last resort when all other methods have failed.

The British Government has failed to get consensus at the international level, leaving the UK split, the EU split, NATO split, and the UN split. After this war we will need to find ways of rebuilding the international community which has been so undermined by the determination of the Bush administration to set their own course and timetable.

I understand that both the American people and administration felt they needed to hit back, and hit back hard, after terrorist attacks on their own country. To do this however they need the cooperation of the international community and the full exchange of intelligence. Europe and the US have a common interest in this and will need to rebuild trust and cooperation. To achieve this, action on the world stage cannot be dictated by the narrow definitions of the economic interests of the US. The Bush administration must genuinely seek common ground with other democratic nations if we are to recover peace and stability following the inevitable conflict.

The world needs and expects leadership from the USA. The USA needs a world leader.