Primate of All Ireland says war is difficult to justify

A war against Iraq is difficult to justify because there is no evidence that President Saddam Hussein's regime is planning "an imminent and serious" attack, according to the Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland, Dr Sean Brady.

In a statement issued yesterday, which follows a meeting with the British Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, last week, Archbishop Brady said any military action should take place within the framework of the UN after consideration of the consequences for Iraqi civilians and regional and local stability.

"It is acknowledged that not taking military action could have negative consequences," he said.

"However, war against Iraq could have unpredictable consequences for stability all over the Middle East. It could provoke the kind of attacks that it is intended to prevent, and provide motivation for future terrorist action which, at present, may not be in existence.

"Military action against Iraq could impose awful burdens on an already long-suffering people, leading inevitably to wider conflict and instability."

He described as "commendable" efforts to focus public opinion on Iraq's refusal to comply with UN resolutions over the last 11 years. However, he said that the international community should continue to pursue alternatives to war and not simply accept a war in the Gulf as inevitable.

"From a Christian point of view, it strikes me that the most pervasive error in this matter seems to be the assumption that mass suffering from war is simply inevitable and acceptable in the world, as long as it does not begin to affect those who now have the privileges and advantages. This assumption presents a massive challenge to the hope of real peace.

"It does so because it assumes that we, who now enjoy the privileges at others' expense, can continue to do so indefinitely without consequences or accountability because we are somehow entitled to enjoy privileges and wealth at the expense of others."

Meanwhile, the Archbishop of Dublin, Cardinal Desmond Connell, yesterday urged people to pray for peace in the Middle East. "International law, honest dialogue, solidarity and diplomacy between the nations are means of striving for peace worthy of human beings," he said in a statement.