What to do about Saddam

He rules Iraq with fear, represses his own people, is likely to invade neighbouring countries and has a tight grip on ten per cent of the world's oil.

What is currently splitting world opinion is what to do about it.

Much of Britain is against going to war with Iraq. The majority appears to oppose military action without support from the United Nations.

Nevertheless, Britain and America stand on the brink of conflict as 200,000 troops man Iraq's borders.

War is looking inevitable. To pull out now would be hugely damaging for American president George W Bush and would almost certainly see him lose the next American election.

However, a swift bombing campaign, pushing Saddam into submission and prompting a regime change in Iraq, would make Bush a hero in the eyes of many in the United States. He would have completed his father's unfinished business from the Gulf War of 1991 (maybe even killing Saddam) AND he would have secured a decent supply of oil.

But oil is not President Bush's main motivation. It is strongly believed that Iraq has weapons of mass destruction -- and, worse, that Saddam is willing to use them. Tony Blair and President Bush have both stated time and time again that Saddam is hiding his weapons from the world. They demanded the Iraqi leader hand over a dossier on his weapons. He sent a 12,000-page report in Arabic.

The UN weapons inspectors were sent in to Iraq after much pressure to find the "smoking gun" which would justify a war. It has yet to be discovered although the UN did find a stash of chemical warheads in an Iraqi bunker -- which Saddam's forces, in explaining why they were not included in the dossier, said they had "forgotten" about.

Chancellor Gordon Brown broke his silence on Iraq to side with Mr Blair's view that there could be war even without new UN backing. He said he did not believe Saddam Hussein had told the truth, and he added: "I think people would agree that if the whole of the international community says disarm and a country and a dictator refuses to do so, you cannot just leave that dictator unpunished."

Mr Blair also believes Saddam is lying. He is convinced Iraq has weapons of mass destruction.

Such a stance has alarmed many commentators, some of whom believe terrorists would see any declaration of war as justification for reigning terror on towns and cities across Britain and America.

Bolton Labour MP Brian Iddon hopes the Government will be cautious before heading for war. He said: "I do hope war is not inevitable. I firmly believe it will put us all at risk of terrorist attack, but aside from that I do not think there is enough evidence to justify a war.

"I supported Britain's involvement in the Gulf conflict of 1991 when Iraq invaded Kuwait. But this current crisis is different. There is now no evidence of aggression by Iraq towards any other country."

In 1991, Iraq invaded Kuwait. It was not a peaceful takeover and Saddam did not treat the Kuwaiti people humanely.

It was essential for Britain and America to act. The allies managed to push Saddam out, but they stopped short of removing him from power.

Saddam accused America of going after oil first and foremost and ordered the burning of Kuwait's oil wells -- an environmental massacre which took years to extinguish.

But the stated aim of the allies was achieved: Kuwait and her people were free. And Ruth Kelly, Labour MP for Bolton West, says freeing people from Saddam's power is the main aim of the current crisis.

She said: "No-one is in any doubt about the brutal regime led by Saddam Hussein. He is a dictator who has not been afraid to use weapons of mass destruction -- he used them in the Iran-Iraq war and has used them on his own people.

"He routinely sanctions the butchering of political opponents and uses prison 'cleansing' regimes and torture chambers in which thousands die. The threat from Saddam arises not only from his capability to use weapons of mass destruction, but also because of the extremely violent and aggressive nature of his regime.

"He has used weapons of mass destruction before and is prepared to do so again."

The United States and Britain insist Iraq is stockpiling banned weapons, an accusation Baghdad denies.

But the issue for other world leaders is whether or not they would back an Anglo-American attack on Iraq without UN support.

To do so would most probably mean both countries going it alone, leaving Britain and America at a heightened risk of terrorist attack. It could also lead to the resignation of up to 100 Labour MPs.

Although none of Bolton's MPs is likely to resign in such circumstances, they each urge, along with many other MPs, that Britain works alongside the UN. Such pressure means Mr Blair would most likely give the UN inspectors access to at least some of the evidence Britain is said to have on Iraq's harbouring of dangerous chemical and biological weapons.

Hans Blix, the chief UN arms inspector, has asked for such evidence as his team become more and more frustrated in their efforts to find chinks in Saddam's weapons' dossier. He has also asked for Britain and America to hold fire until they complete their duties in Iraq.

Dr Mahmood Chandia, executive member of the Bolton Council of Mosques, said: "We are comforted by the emerging views from all parts of the political spectrum that US and Britain will not attack Iraq without the authority of the UN.

"We believe, along with the majority of the British population, that Iraq does not pose a threat to national security and that a war with Iraq would increase the tension in the Middle East and result in the death of innocent civilians.

"We call on Mr Blair to listen to his electorate and pursue alternative options to war. A war with Iraq is illegal, immoral and will destroy an entire society."

As fears of terror attacks in this country grows, police have stepped up their campaign to untangle the web of terrorist groups.

Abu Qatada, an Islamic cleric said to be Osama bin Laden's European ambassador once lived in Bolton. He is now currently detained under anti-terrorist laws along with Taliban sympathiser Hassan Butt, a former Bury College student.

Bertie Lewis, member of the Bolton Stop the War Coalition, said: "I'm convinced, as sure as night follows day, that Britain will be a target for terrorists if we go to war with Iraq.

"The only justification for war would be if there was indisputable proof that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction and was willing to use them.

"I don't think that proof is there."

"If we hit Iraq, we will be considered criminals. Terrorists will look to our weak points, our civilians."

Dr Chandia said: "What we have in Bolton is a very good inter-faith relationship and it is my hope that whatever happens across the world does not have an impact locally."