Very rarely, especially in recent times, do we see US imperialism laid bared in all its unvarnished ferocity. Previously the United Nations - or some other multilateral body - was roped in to give Washington's military action the veneer of legitimacy. Not this time.

Much has been said about the legality of the war against Iraq after the United States and its minions failed to get UN backing. Suffice for us to add that the US is not learning the lesson which it has tried so hard to teach the rest of the world.

Much has been said, too, about Saddam Hussein's atrocious human rights record. Having been to Baghdad twice - during the 1991 Gulf War and a year later - I have no doubt about the savagery and brutality of the Iraqi regime. Just before Desert Storm, I was in northern Iraq to investigate the 1988 poison gas attacks o­n the Kurds which left more than 5,000 dead.

But make no mistake - this war is not about saving Iraq, let alone its Kurdish minorities.