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Mr. George: When I began my speech, I did not think that I would agree with what the hon. Gentleman would
say, but I would like people such as the assistant chiefs of the defence staff to appear before the Select Committee. With the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, I expect to meet military personnel later in the week.
It is clutching at straws to assume that there is any profound difference between senior military advice and political leadership. If my right hon. Friend the Member for Chesterfield were here, with his knowledge of history, he could have reminded us that, on defence, the House in the 19th century was largely occupied in trying to establish parliamentary and civilian control over the military. If a member of the military cannot accept political direction from those democratically accountable to the House, that person should seek an alternative career. I suspect and hope that there is agreement. I suspect that, in the country, it is widely agreed that Saddam must be confronted if all else fails. I accept that that is inevitable, but those who wish to exercise their moral judgment against the decision of the overwhelming majority of this House will perhaps give some aid and comfort to Saddam. I am appalled by that.
Mr. George:
That remark is not disgraceful. My hon. Friend's views are well known.
Mr. Nicholas Soames (Mid-Sussex):
I wholly endorse the words of the Chairman of the Defence Committee. From my experience of the Secretary of State for Defence and my long-standing knowledge of the Chief of the Defence Staff, I should be surprised if a cigarette paper could be put between them. Any mischief-making suggestions on that account are unhelpful to the decision-making process and totally untrue. I also endorse what he said about how imperative it is that the House sends a strong message to the Royal Air Force detachments and the Royal Naval task force, which will be heartened and invigorated by the support that I am sure will be expressed for the Government in the Lobby tonight.
Let us be quite clear, as everyone has been, that Saddam Hussein and his wicked, vile regime must be dealt with. Beyond any doubt, he possesses chemical and biological weapons and, contrary to all the articles of war, he has used chemical weapons on the Kurds and the Iranians. He invaded the sovereign state of Kuwait and visited the most wicked cruelty and devastation on its population and its land. He dropped Scud missiles at Riyadh, Tel Aviv, Dhahran and Haifa. He is in wilful, permanent and gross breach of UN resolutions and has persistently interfered with the UNSCOM inspectors as they try to carry out their mandate to secure and destroy those weapons of mass destruction.
During my two and a half years at the Ministry of Defence, every three months or so I was visited by Ambassador Ekeus, the then head of UNSCOM, who reported on what was happening. He told me that there was nothing new about that interference, which had been going on for years, but that it had finally reached intolerable levels.
The Iraqis have lied, cheated and attempted to conceal that arsenal of weapons. In the face of continuing Iraqi intransigence, it is clear that they have more to hide and that this matter must be resolved. Saddam Hussein's treatment of his own people is unspeakable, and the world must be a safer place by forcing him to comply with the 1991 ceasefire, let alone the terms of the UN resolutions.
I hope that it does not have to happen, but if it comes to it, it will be the job of the American and British forces to dismantle the apparatus of Saddam's wicked regime. We are all probably agreed upon that proposition, but how to go about it is an altogether different kettle of fish. There are respectable grounds for believing that the bombing of Iraq will achieve nothing. There are people in the House who hold such views with great passion and who have every right to be heard. Such bombing could lead to the strengthening of Saddam Hussein's position internally and it could alienate world opinion, particularly if there are large numbers of civilian casualties. In extreme circumstances, it could increase the risk of a wider, prolonged war.
For my part, and with some reluctance, I believe that, on this occasion, it is right that Britain should support the United States because the proposed military action is for just motives. I pray that the targeting experts will have developed a careful and sophisticated plan. Unlike the right hon. Member for Chesterfield (Mr. Benn), I hope that they will pause regularly to remind Saddam Hussein that he only has to agree to unrestricted, unconditional access for that military action to be discontinued.
The problem is that the military option is not an effective substitute for UN weapons inspectors having unrestricted access on the ground and the ability to get hold of and destroy those ghastly, malign weapons. It is imperative that every worthwhile diplomatic avenue is explored. There is no point in the Secretary-General going to Baghdad without clear instructions from the permanent five on the Security Council. To do otherwise would gravely damage the credibility of the UN, whose credibility and integrity are already seriously questioned. If he were to go to Baghdad, it should be made plain to the Iraqis that a prompt response is required and that, failing a satisfactory answer, the military option will then have to be exercised.
What will happen? Saddam will be bombed and the sanctions kept in place indefinitely, and the only sure losers will be Iraq's poor, long-suffering civilians. If that happens, this House should understand and focus clearly upon the grave consequences for British interests in the middle east and British foreign policy in Europe and beyond. My right hon. Friend the Member for Huntingdon (Mr. Major) made a good point about the middle east with which I whole-heartedly agree.
I travelled regularly to the middle east when I was at the Ministry of Defence and I always reported back on the increasing resentment and anti-western feeling that existed in all countries of the Gulf. That has come about because the Arabs, quite rightly, deeply resent the uneven-handed way in which the Americans, and, regrettably therefore, ourselves, have dealt with the Arab-Israeli question. They are right to be angry and they are right to be frustrated with America and her allies, but the fallout for us is serious and must be addressed by a more creative and vigorous policy. The middle east peace process is now in critical need of repair and, whatever the result of events as they unfold in Iraq, unless important steps are taken to reinvigorate that process, it will remain a festering and dangerous source of discontent and mischief, with potentially grievous consequences for stability in an already highly turbulent area.
I believe that Foreign Office Ministers have not done enough to push forward the middle east peace process. The Foreign Secretary will need to devote a great deal more time to the middle east than his rather exotic and varied priorities have thus far enabled him to do. The right hon. Gentleman has neglected our friends in the Gulf. Labour Members may disagree, but in nine months in office, he has made one visit to the Gulf and that was only in response to an emergency. It is little wonder that our Arab friends attach so little credibility to the Government's policy on the middle east.
Quite apart from the neglect of our interests in Arabia, the Government have failed dismally during the current crisis to give any leadership in Europe. I agree with the right hon. Member for Chesterfield that it is quite extraordinary that at a time when Britain has the presidency of the European Union, the Government have done so little to try to build a coalition and to carry our European partners with us. It really is time forthe Government to drop the rhetoric and lead the Governments of Europe in a new initiative to try to bring peace to the middle east.
Of course, it is much harder for Britain to find common ground with the Germans and the French than it is with the Americans, but that effort must be made. The Government may have tried, but they certainly have not done enough. Our European friends and allies are rightly angry and bemused by the behaviour of the Labour Government. The Foreign Secretary must understand that without a real commitment to the nitty-gritty detail of business with Europe on all fronts, the utility to Washington of the Government-to-Government special relationship will gradually diminish, to our great disadvantage.
It is now clear to European politicians that, at the end of the day, the Labour Administration, with all the rhetoric and fancy packaging about their commitment to
Europe, most favour a client state relationship with America. That is a lamentable and foolish state of affairs, which has done our country grave harm.
We should support the current American position, but we should do so from a European perspective. We should not just follow along blindly, but bring to the vital decisions the broader European opinion which, through our presidency, we must represent, and which we have so foolishly neglected in international affairs.
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