The way in which the US responded to the September 11th attacks was debated last night in the final of The Irish Times Debate 2002.
Chaired by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Cowen, the motion of the 42nd annual debate was "That this House regrets the American response to September 11th".
The debate was held at NUI, Maynooth, last night. Proposing the motion, Mr Jim McElroy of the TCD Historical Society, said the US military campaign "does not address the nature and causes of international terrorism".
He said dropping bombs on Afghanistan would not stop a terrorist organisation with cells throughout the world.
Opposing the motion, Mr Simon Larragy of UCD Law Society said the war was a "legitimate form of self-defence for the United States".
He also said that the prisoners currently being held in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, "did not deserve the status of prisoners of war".
Mr Louis Mooney of the TCD Historical Society, proposing the motion, said the bombing campaign succeeded in "sparking a wave of anti-Americanism throughout the Islamic world".
The correct course of action for Mr Bush, he said, was a method of peaceful conflict resolution.
Ms Imogen McGrath of King's Inns opposing the motion, said it was a just war, whose "primary objective to end global terrorism was a moral imperative. . . attacking the Twin Towers was a war crime".
Also proposing the motion were Mr Brendan Kelly of the TCD Historical Society; Ms Francesca Reinhardt of the TCD Philosophical Society and Mr John Cleary of the TCD Historical Society.
Also opposing the motion were Mr Will McKechnie of King's Inns; Mr Ian Keogh of DCU and Mr Conor Buckley of the UCC Philosophical Society.
The adjudicators at the debate were Mr Damian Crawford (presiding) barrister and former team winner; Prof Brent Northup, chairman of the Communications Department, Carroll College, Montana; Mr Harry Browne, Education and Living Desk Editor and radio reviewer, The Irish Times; Mr Barra Faughnan, barrister and former individual winner and Mr Brian Murray, barrister and former team winner.