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UK Lib Dems pledge no more Iraq-style wars without UN mandate

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

London, April 14, IRNA
UK Lib Dems-War Pledge
The Liberal Democrats Thursday made a firm commitment in its election manifesto that Britain must not support any more illegal military intervention like Iraq.

"We should not have gone to war in Iraq. There were no weapons of mass destruction, there was no serious and current threat, and inspectors were denied the time they needed to finish their job," the party's shadow foreign secretary Menzies Campbell said.

He said that the war had killed thousands of soldiers and civilians and had cost the UK over Pnds 3.5 billion (Dlrs 6.7 bn).

The consequence of the invasion "has imposed on us a moral obligation to work towards a stable, secure and free Iraq.

"Britain must never again support an illegal military
intervention," warned Campbell, who is also deputy leader of Britain's third biggest party.

In its election manifesto launched on Wednesday, Labour still insisted upon defending the war, but appealed to British voters to put the dispute over its legality behind them, pointing to the holding of Iraq's interim elections.

The main opposition Conservatives, which backed the war, focused on Prime Minister Tony Blair misleading the public to raise concerns about putting trust in Labour.

Introducing his party's manifesto, Lib Dem leader Charles Kennedy emphasized the consistency of his party's anti-war stance, which is attributed to overturning large Labour majorities in two recent by- election victories.

"We have stuck to our principles: from our opposition to the war in Iraq to our defence of fundamental civil liberties over control orders. Again and again, we have been the real opposition to Tony Blair's increasingly discredited Government," he said.

Campbell referred to the importance of the Iraq war being a decisive factor in next month's general election, where it is expected that Labour's 161-seat majority in the 659-member House of Commons could be at least halved, if not virtually wiped out.

"It is often said that foreign affairs is not a determining issue in UK elections. But on this occasion I believe that the conduct of Britain's foreign affairs, particularly in relation to Iraq, goes right to the heart of the Labour Government's credibility," he said.

The Liberal Democrat shadow foreign secretary warned that "both at home and abroad trust has been eroded, and Britain's reputation diminished."
"It need not have been so. Britain, as a member of the G8, the Security Council of the United Nations, the European Union, NATO and the Commonwealth, has a unique opportunity to be a force for good in the world," he argued.

Campbell highlighted that Britain's traditional practice has been "one of operating through multilateral institutions." The experience shows that "when Britain does this, it provides leadership and influence," he maintained.

"Britain was taken to war against Iraq without express UN authority and on a flawed prospectus. The Government built its case on unreliable intelligence, in circumstances of doubtful legality," Campbell reminded British voters.

He compared the invasion with the "fiasco of Suez" in 1956, when the British Labour government at the time unilaterally invaded Egypt and warned "this must never be allowed to happen again."
"The work of rebuilding trust and confidence should begin immediately. We can start by committing ourselves to the reforms of the United Nations set out in the High-Level Panel's sagacious report," the Lib Dem deputy leader said.

He also argued that Britain "can influence the whole of the Middle East by an unwavering commitment to peace between Israel and the Palestinians."
Analysts have suggested that increased support for the Lib Dems from an Iraq war backlash will only be translated to a modest increase in its current number of MPs from 54 to perhaps only 65 or 70 because of the country's first-past-the-post electoral system.

The main beneficiaries, by virtual default, could be the Conservatives, as many of their candidates in second place could oust dozens of Labour MPs through a collapse in their party's vote.

HC/1412
::IRNA No.045 14/04/2005 15:31 --End