For and against: 'We could be putting ourselves at risk'

Iraqis weep for children who starved under the sanctions

This week we ask Britons from a variety of walks of life for their view on war with Iraq. Web developer Gavin Horricks, 28, of Manchester, fears for the UK's future safety.

Who knows what is around the corner?

All of us think that too little was done to avert the attacks on New York and Washington. If going to war in Afghanistan before 11 September could have stopped these tragic events unfolding, then I'm sure most people would have trusted our governments to make a decision without having to provide us with hard evidence.

A possible missile attack has put the UK on high alert this week

If we were to be warned that a similarly devastating attack on the UK was to come, then there would be mayhem. (Already some are nervous enough to start stockpiling food and water.) Instead the governments of the world choose to act now rather than later when it is too late.

So it is with great fear that I hear civilised people say that Iraq should be allowed to continue to ignore the UN's warning that only full compliance will avert 'major consequences'.

The UN has already given Saddam his last chance and now it appears that certain countries would like to give him yet another chance. What message does this send out to other countries that may prove to be aiding terrorism in some way?

Iraqis' plight

I care deeply about national security and think all countries need to be aware that a war is no longer fought with an army. Terror attackers can pretty much do what they want when they want - we just have to make sure that weapons are not easily available to them.

Weapons inspections resumed two months ago

Many people in Iraq are in great need of food and medicine because of the way Saddam runs his country.

In the short term a war will no doubt kill many innocent Iraqi people and this is not what anyone would want. But in the long term if Saddam is toppled I think it can become a better country to live in.

So I ask myself: can we trust a leader who purposely lets his people die, kills his own family and is a known liar when he says that he has no weapons of mass destruction?

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