By Ian Craig
LABOUR delegates were asked during a heated debate to ignore the "drumbeats of war" over Iraq and to search for a peaceful solution.
Anti-war campaigners urged delegates at the Blackpool conference to reject armed action and not to support US President George W Bush's proposed military action against Baghdad.
A motion submitted by London delegates said that an attack against Iraq would increase the suffering of its people and aggravate the present crisis in the Middle East.
This put the delegates on collision course with most members of the Cabinet, demanding approval for military action, in conjunction with America, if Saddam Hussein continued to defy the United Nations.
Party leaders, anxious to kill off the critical motion, supported an alternative, which accepted that Saddam Hussein was guilty of "appalling human rights abuses", but said that Britain could not rule out military action against Iraq, if political and diplomatic alternatives had been exhausted.
One of the Cabinet's greatest critics of unilateral military action, International Development Secretary Clare Short, was chosen by Labour leaders to open the emotional debate.
She said the most immediate danger in a fragile world was Iraq."We can all hear the drumbeat of war. And no one should welcome it," said Ms Short.
She told delegates that the current generation was under test, in government at a time when the world was capable of moving forward to eliminate poverty and illiteracy. She said that Iraq must be forced to abide by United Nations resolutions to ensure that its weapons of mass destruction are destroyed and removed.
Sanctions
"If UN sanctions are lifted, I can commit our government to a strong and immediate effort to help the people of Iraq rebuild their shattered economy so it becomes once against the prosperous country it used to be," said Ms Short.
But Foreign Secretary Jack Straw told delegates that Britain had to be ready to act if Saddam Hussein defied United Nations weapons inspectors once again and delegates were likely to give Tony Blair backing for his approach to the Iraq crisis.
Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon put the emphasis on the loss of innocent life caused by terrorism, especially the September 11 attack on New York.
"The attacks that day underlined that we cannot close our eyes and ignore the threats we face because they are a long way from home," said Mr Hoon.
"The weapons of mass destruction being developed and acquired by the Iraqi regime pose a unique threat to the security both of the region and the rest of the world. The threat is real, the threat is credible, the threat cannot be ignored."
Mr Hoon told delegates that no one in the government took lightly the decision to commit British forces to fight. Any action would be in accordance with international law.
"Future generations will look back at the choices we make in the coming years, at how we faced up to the challenges set before us. We must not avoid the responsibility of taking these difficult decisions," said Mr Hoon.
He urged delegates to imagine a world in which terrorists or tyrants like Saddam Hussein were free to act with impunity. That would be a nightmare.
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