In a statement released Feb. 27, the Ulster Unionist Party has given its strong backing to the Government's current position on Iraq.
 

Speaking in last night's House of Commons debate on a motion endorsing the Prime Minister's approach to the continuing crisis, UUP Leader David Trimble said: "We are under no illusion about the fact that it is a further step along a route that might end in war. We do not support such a motion lightly, because we are well aware of the consequences that might flow from it.

"Thousands of servicemen are on their way to the Gulf, and we know what the consequences for them may be. Among those going to the Gulf are the two Irish regiments: the Royal Irish Regiment and the Irish Guards. Well in excess of 1,000 people from Northern Ireland-and, indeed, a not insignificant number from the Republic of Ireland-will shortly be deployed in the Gulf."

 The Upper Bann MP said: "We have no doubt about the nature of the regime in Iraq We have no doubt about the threat, about the wars that have been started, or about the weapons of mass destruction that have been accumulated, and which continue to be there There are United Nations resolutions that require Saddam Hussein to disarm. There has certainly been a failure to comply. There was a material breach before 1441, and there is a material breach now."

"It is only the credible threat of force that has achieved the little progress that there has been, and that has made Saddam Hussein permit the admission of inspectors. That comes after the failure of earlier UN resolutions The UN and the world community allowed themselves to be bluffed and maneuvered out of Iraq. Against that background, 1441 had to be clear, and backed up by a credible threat of force. That credible threat has to be maintained."

Trimble warned: "The paradox is that, in order to obtain compliance with UN resolutions, there has to be the threat of force. Unless Saddam Hussein complies, it is inevitable that that force will have to be used those who have supported the UN and its resolutions, including 1441, must be aware that, as a consequence, they must support the credible use of force, right down to the point of its use. If they fail to do so, they will weaken the UN gravely."
 

The Upper Bann MP said he was distressed by "the degree of anti-Americanism that has been expressed and the personal hostility to the president," saying he believed such attitudes to be "wholly misplaced." He continued: "I base that opinion not only on the fleeting personal acquaintance that I have had with him, but on what he has said and done over the past couple of years, which I have looked at closely. The record is clear, especially in the period since 11 September. The US has moved slowly, deliberately and proportionately. That is the evidence of the past year and a half."

Trimble also reminded MPs of the need to consider the instability of the Middle East region as a whole. "We need to think about the causes of that instability, and about how we can resolve or do something to improve the situation there.

If there were no oil in the region, there would be a series of failed states there. The region has failed to deal with the challenge of modernization," he said.

 And, he insisted, "A distinction must be drawn between Islam and what is happening in the Middle East in respect of a particular and virulent strand of that religion. That strand is a distortion of Islam. We need to ask why modernization has failed. Saddam grew out of the Ba'ath socialist party, although he is, in fact, a crude anti-Semitic nationalist. Why have such people obtained and retained power? How do we change that? I am not just talking about regime change, but asking how we change the culture in the Middle East and the orientation of those states because, until we do that, we will not achieve stability."

Concluding, the Ulster Unionist Party Leader said: "The issue this evening is whether we support the Government in what they are doing-whether we want the UN resolutions to be enforced. That is the challenge. The resolutions have got to be complied with or enforced-if not complied with, then enforced-and that has to be done as and when we can to maintain the threat, and it may have to be done soon."
 

(For more information, contact the Ulster Unionist Parliamentary Party House of Commons, Westminster, London SW1A 0AA; Telephone: 020 7219 0505; Fax: 020 7219 0575; E-mail: uup@uup.org.)
 

For further information, contact Claire Kirk, UUP Westminster Office 
Tel: 020 7219 3499