WITH every innocent Afghan killed by American and British bombs, the moral case for the war against terrorism diminished.

The world was united in its condemnation of the attacks on the World Trade Centre, but is deeply divided over the response.

The "Coalition Against Terrorism" looks set to fail to get food to the starving before winter snows set in.

By sponsoring the Afghan Northern Alliance it may become party to a bloodbath of rape and murder if they reach Kabul. And it has not got a clue what to do if it ever finds Osama bin Laden; his death will do little but create a martyr of mythical proportions.

I am no pacifist. I wanted military action taken against the aggressors in Bosnia and Kosovo much earlier than was agreed. But it is not an effective approach against invisible plotters working worldwide, and it will produce no real "success" in Afghanistan. We are barging around like a bear trying to kill a wasp, and in the process stirring up the whole nest.

The real battle should be to win the hearts and minds of those who deplore terrorism, but distrust America and its allies, and it is one we are losing.

While the Government's propaganda machine tries to keep us feeling righteous and superior, we are fuelling the hatred which will turn many more angry young men into suicide bombers.

It is now becoming clear that the existing approach is folly and we must extricate ourselves from the mess. Terrorism must be fought in other ways. We must regain the moral high ground to cool the anger, and persuade the USA, the European Union, China and Russia to use their immense diplomatic and economic influence in concert together to curb those fostering terrorism.

It is not a course that will secure instant results. It will be dismissed as weak by the hawks who think that bombs and bullets are the answer to every problem. And it will be claimed as a victory by those who organised the September 11 attack.

But our present response is playing into the terrorists' hands and helping them achieve their long term goals. We are in a hole and we must stop digging it deeper.

Chris Davies

Liberal Democrat MEP

for the North West of England

Castle Street

Stockport