As I write this, thousands of men and women in our armed services will be preparing for hostilities in the Gulf. As a Member of the European Parliament for the south-east of England, I know that many of them will be my constituents.
Conducting a war is, by its nature, uncertain and unpredictable. What is not in doubt, though, is the legitimacy of our cause.
Saddam and his regime constitute one of the worst dictatorships the world has ever seen. Even by the standards of tyranny witnessed in the last century, few can equal the magnitude of Saddams crimes. He has presided over the deaths of millions many of them his own people.
I have been especially concerned with a catastrophe that has been unfolding over the last two decades.
The Marsh Arabs of southern Iraq are a proud and ancient people, whose existence in the region dates back 5,000 years. Since the beginning of Saddams rule, they have been the victims of a systematic campaign of genocide.
Thousands have been killed and thousands more have been forced to flee their homeland. 95,000 now live in makeshift camps on the Iranian side of the border. As part of a deliberate programme of environmental sabotage, 75% of the marshlands of the EuphratesTigris river basin have been drained. Amid incalculable human suffering, a world heritage and ecological treasure is soon to be lost forever.
This is the work of Saddam, and tragically it is only one example of the many crimes his regime has committed.
There has been much debate, quite rightly, on the legal and political legitimacy of war. But let us unite behind one fact. This conflict has one of the strongest moral and ethical mandates since the second world war. It is a just war which we know to be right.
