In the haste of the military campaign, it is easy to overlook the reason why the United States and Britain went to war against Iraq.

The Coalition Forces justified their action on the basis of a United Nations resolution concerning the inspection of Saddam Hussein's weapons programme.

Toppling Saddam and his regime, welcome as it is, does not amount to justification.

Installing a representative democratic government in Iraq, welcome as it will be, will not amount to justification.

Only the discovery of nuclear, chemical or biological weapons, or the capability of producing them, will be the end that justifies the means of war.

It will be of concern to the US and British governments, therefore, that almost a month into the invasion no weapons of mass destruction have been discovered.

In a country the size of France, it is of course possible to obscure incriminating evidence from public gaze, but not for an eternity.

For every day the war goes on, the assertion by Saddam's regime that it had abandoned its weapons programme looks increasingly credible.

The need for the Coalition Forces to discover proof of a programme is urgent.

While even the most ardent opponents of war within the UN will find it difficult to mourn the passing of an evil dictatorship, they will find it extremely difficult to restore constructive relations with America or Britain if the war took place under false pretences.

14/04/2003