Iraq conflict - Protests put pressure on warmongers

IF US President George W Bush or Taoiseach Bertie Ahern had any illusion about the strength of anti-war sentiment around the globe or in this country, it was dispelled when millions of people took to the streets over the weekend to deliver the loud message that they don’t want war.

Not since the Vietnam war has there been such an outpouring of opposition to conflict. From Dublin to Rome, London, Paris, Berlin and New York, ordinary people families, toddlers, middle-aged and elderly people marched in massive rallies against the Bush line on Iraq.

It is questionable, however, whether Mr Bush has the intellectual capacity to envisage the kind of policy seachange that public opinion demands.