Andrews (UEN). – Mr President, the reconstruction of Afghanistan has not, in my view, remotely begun, despite the assurances given in the House today. The warlords still maintain their iron grip outside Kabul and women still wear the burka and have no rights whatsoever, for instance to education or primary healthcare. It is, in my view, right for the United States and the rest of the Western world to seek to destroy Al-Qaida and eliminate Osama Bin Laden, but so far they have failed. Much has been made of women's rights in Afghanistan, but as I said , nothing has changed.

I believe that Afghanistan is only the tip of the iceberg as far as the United States is concerned. Many commentators suggest that it is part of the strategy to ensure access to oil from the Caspian Sea. Now the question arises, how many fronts will open up after Afghanistan? The American administration is preparing for war on Iraq, with unpredictable consequences that no one will be able to control. They will of course have won control of the Iraqi oil wells, but Afghanistan is ignored. In a recent poll in England, 71% were against their government participating in a war without the approval of the Security Council. No doubt as soon as the war begins, other European leaders along with Tony Blair, will bend to the will of the United States, ignoring the views of the people, which says a lot about our democracy.

The Iraqi people have suffered death and destruction for the past eleven years under the United States sanctions, as have the people of Afghanistan. We have to look clearly at our policy in the Middle East and elsewhere.