Is war o­n Iraq justified? Yes, war to disarm and change the regime in Iraq is justified, not because war is moral but because inaction is immoral.

Firstly, the Iraqi regime is under a "temporary reprieve" to stay in power after the invasion of Kuwait as long as it agrees to, inter alia, disarm, pay restitution to Kuwait, return all Kuwaiti prisoners, etc. It has been almost 13 years and it has still refused to comply, expect for some superficial compliance to win "cheap publicity".

Secondly, to all those who equate international legitimacy with the UN, look no further than a couple of years back when US and its allies took military action against Yugoslavia "outside of the UN". Why? Because China and Russia in the Security Council would have blocked any such war.

Thirdly, the talk about US hypocrisy with respect to "Iraq and North Korea". Well, the war o­n Iraq gains greater credence because of the situation we now find ourselves with North Korea, i.e. we need to stop Saddam getting to that position of power by which time, we cannot disarm but appease.

Fourthly, hundreds of children, elderly and the sick die in Iraqi hospitals every day not because of sanctions but because they are powerful "publicity stunts" for Saddam. Iraq can import as much food and medicine they need under the UN sanctions but he refuses.

Finally, who speaks for those above and for the hundreds of thousands who have died because of Saddam and many more who will continue to die e.g. 500-1,000 are executed in Saddam's prisons daily, according to estimates by the Kurds and the Iraqi exiles (by the way, about 30 percent of Iraqis are exiles).

In the world I live in, sadly, war is a necessary evil.