Thanks Nicole for demonstrating that Israel is an apartheid state, does have anti-Arab racist laws and does prevent citizenship for Arabs living in their homeland. By the way, Israel is illegally occupying Gaza and the West Bank, part of the expansionist "Greater Israel" policy supported by ALL the major parties in Israel in one form or another. And yes, arabs who leave the country are routinely denied the right of return. And yes, the imposition of Israeli law in the occupied territories is illegal under international law.

Saddam Hussein is military dictator put there by the western powers because when he was put in power, he would do what the west wanted. Now he won't. Whatever wealth he has accumulated, the amount of infrastructure damage and consequent death inflicted by the western powers in the last 10 years has had a much greater impact on the population. Whether or not he accumulates wealth, that's no justification for the US and UK bombing water treatment plants, roads, bridges, and power plants. And the UN IS turning a blind eye to Turkish planes bombing kurds in the no-fly zone.

As for evidence of the effects of sanctions, how much does anyone need? A cursory glance around the web will trawl plenty. Oh and please don't pretend that everything you ever read is PR and can therefore be dismissed. It's not always just "I believe it/I don't believe it".

Too many people are willing to drift towards war because they are comfortable with the idea that a small country far away will get bashed and very few of us will be involved. Political adults generally take a different line.

It's important to focus on ending the sanctions. This takes the issue away from Bush making stupid claims about Iraq and Hussein and concentrates on the Iraqi people. Concentrating on the aggression and illegal activity of Israel again concentrates attention on the Palestinian people who are under occupation.

A Scottish worker's leader called John McLean once described a bayonet as a weapon with a worker on each end. It's worth thinking about.