EUROPE: Politicians from all the main political groups in the European Parliament, including Irish MEPs, have warned the US against carrying out an invasion of Iraq without prior UN approval.
The Labour MEP for Dublin, Mr Proinsias De Rossa, called on the European Union to put aside internal differences and unite "in opposition to the US unilateralist approach in the interests of stability and peace in the world, and more immediately in the Middle East".
He told the parliament that, on a whole range of issues, "the US is moving sharply away from the philosophy of interdependence and solidarity which informs the EU's approach to world affairs".
This was a recipe for instability and the rise of a "neo-imperialism" which promised to be just as damaging as the imperialism of the past.
"Any military action in relation to Iraq must be proportionate, and in strict conformity with a United Nations mandate.
"It must also be balanced against the potential for even greater instability in that region. The EU must maintain its position that military action in pursuit of 'regime change' is not acceptable," Mr De Rossa said.
The Fianna Fáil MEP Mr Niall Andrews said that in the EU there was "near-unanimity among member states that an attack on Iraq would be of the utmost insanity".
The 22 million Iraqi people were threatened with a full-scale invasion by "a so-called Christian power", resulting in countless dead. "Another bombing of Iraq will amount to mass murder." The proposed war had no moral authority whatsoever: "It has not authority from the UN and certainly it has no approval from the European people." He also urged the Iraqi government to "change course" and admit UN weapons inspectors.
The Green MEP for Leinster, Ms Nuala Ahern, told The Irish Times: "George Bush is a very dangerous man and Saddam Hussein is equally dangerous, and the thought of them going at each other like two prizefighters is just horrific to all sane people whether in Europe or America.
"War is unthinkable and we are on the brink of war if neither of them blinks and I just hope that the forces of moderation in the US can draw Bush back from the brink because he doesn't listen to any voices in Europe, even those of his allies. At the bottom it is clearly abour taking over the oilfields of Iraq," Ms Ahern said.
The European External Relations Commissioner, Mr Chris Patten, called for a review of the "global rule book" governing military intervention in a sovereign state, i.e., the UN Charter.
"We have to think constructively about whether the global rule book that has by and large governed our affairs for the last 50 years is still valid, whether it requires some changes and how it can be refined and strengthened."
The position agreed by EU foreign ministers meeting in Denmark last weekend, demanding the unconditional return of UN weapons inspectors to Iraq, was the "best way forward", Mr Patten said.