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To those who have told us that they may leave the Labour party because the Government is preparing to go to war against Iraq without United Nations authority, we say, stick in. This is where the critical debate is taking place, and you need to be part of it.
If when you read this we are already at war, we must, of course, earnestly hope that it is short and causes as few casualties, allied or Iraqi, as it is possible to imagine, Few who joined the peace marches did so in defence of a regime whose inhumanity is eloquently described by Jack Cunningham on page 3, and few will regret its downfall, We will, however, continue to argue that going to war is not the best way to overthrow corrupt regimes. Every argument for attacking Iraq could have been used to justify going to war against the Soviet Union or against the racist white minority regime that ruled South Africa. In both cases, the tyranny was eventually destroyed by forces in its country which it could not control.

We must then put to the test the fine words spoken about creating a wonderful future for the people

of Iraq. Bush has spoken piously about giving Iraq democratic Government, but does he mean, by "democratic", government that reflects the will of the people or simply government that is friendly to America?

And if the task of rebuilding Iraq is given to companies which retain the services of senior figures in the US Government as their lobbyists, and paid for by Iraqi oil revenues, will our Labour Prime Minister make a stand against such corruption? Is the future of Iraq safe in the hands of the man who sold chemical weapons to Saddam Hussein? Whether our motives for attacking Iraq are to disarm it of weapons of mass destruction or liberate its people from tyranny, we certainly owe its bombarded and traumatised population a better future than that,

We were glad to hear Jack Straw speak in Parliament about the need to break cycles of violence in Palestine, precisely the concern we expressed last month. We believe that he sincerely wishes to see a just settlement for the Palestinian people. But how much influence has the Government really bought with its support for Bush's War aims? Are we an ally or a satellite?

Dare our I.abour Prime Minister stand up for the poor and vulnerable sections of the world community even in the teeth of the hostility of rich and powerful interests?

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