Results 1-19 of 19 for iraq speaker:Bruce George

Point of Order: Defence in the UK (26 Apr 2007)

Bruce George: ...It was not the British or the French; it was the United States. Because of the deteriorating economic environment in the United States and the bruising that it, like the British, has received over Iraq, my concern is that the United States might do what it did after 1918-19: retreat into itself and say, "Well, it's your problem." It must not do that. However good our armed forces are, and...

Electoral Administration Bill (Programme) (No. 2): Clause 20 — Review of polling places (13 Jun 2006)

Bruce George: ...in those areas in which they were strong was to hold the election in a constricted place, because people simply leave if there is a crowd—although that is better than the situation in Iraq, where bombs were dropped on queues in order to deter people. If a returning officer says, "I am sorry, but we cannot let in five or 10 observers," they have arranged for the election to take place...

Defence Procurement (4 Nov 2004)

Mr Bruce George: ...Committee, but I will talk to her afterwards. The Government's response suggested that the Committee should have highlighted the success of the procurement of items. We did, and in our "Lessons of Iraq" report we were in many ways very complimentary. The MOD attacked us as uninformed and disliked our conclusions, but those were based on solid evidence given to us. The Committee concluded...

Defence (21 Oct 2004)

Mr Bruce George: ...does mean, the involvement of a whole spectrum of Departments, and even policing and the private sector in considering acts of terrorism. It is inevitable that the debate will be dominated by Iraq. The decision to deploy is clearly important and has excited a great deal of comment. The Defence Committee has invited the Secretary of State to give evidence. I hope that that will happen soon...

Iraq (20 Jul 2004)

Mr Bruce George: ...it will take a long time. I want to talk about the report of the Defence Committee that is relevant to the motion. In 1991, the Defence Committee produced an excellent report on the war. We visited Iraq before and after that war, which was termed Operation Granby. Following Operation Desert Fox, we spent a great deal of time examining the no-fly zones, into which we conducted an inquiry in...

Civil Contingencies Bill (19 Jan 2004)

Mr Bruce George: ...is professional and effective, and often critical to the success of the overall response. Let me point out that during the recent fire services dispute, despite operational requirements in Iraq and elsewhere, 19,000 service personnel were committed to provide cover during possible industrial action by the Fire Brigades Union. I believe that if such a commitment can be sustained during a...

Defence Procurement (23 Oct 2003)

Mr Bruce George: ...carriers is essential. I therefore hope that the anxieties will turn out to be merely media-inspired. Our Committee has produced several reports on procurement. In our forthcoming report on the lessons of Iraq, there is bound to be a strong section on how our weapons systems worked. In Kosovo, the RAF, despite its best endeavours, lacked smart bombs that could land anywhere near the...

Iraq (18 Mar 2003)

Mr Bruce George: ...the moment at which we have, individually and collectively, to decide on which side of the line in the sand we choose to stand. War is hell, as an American civil war general once said, but, for the Iraqis, the Iraqi Kurds, the Marsh Arabs, the Kuwaitis or the Iranians who have been the victims of Saddam Hussein, the so-called peace can be hellish, too. Any agonies of conscience that I had...

Iraq (26 Feb 2003)

Mr Bruce George: ...for one hour and five minutes the day before he made his presentation and, I am sure, before he had written it. During his formal presentation, Dr. Blix said: "The declaration submitted by Iraq on 7 December, despite its large volume, missed the opportunity to provide the fresh material and evidence needed to respond to the open questions." He continued: "Although I can understand that it...

Orders of the Day — UN Security Council Resolution 1441 (25 Nov 2002)

Mr Bruce George: ...to the international community, and especially to those who live within firing distance of the various weaponry used by both the Israelis and the Palestinians. This is yet another debate on Iraq. Looking at the inventory of discussions in the Chamber and in Committee and of the meetings between the Prime Minister and the Chairmen of the relevant Committees, I do not get the impression that...

Defence in the United Kingdom (31 Oct 2002)

Mr Bruce George: ...road. I can certainly speak to my hon. Friend about this privately, as the question requires more than a glib three-sentence answer. As yet, I am not convinced that al-Qaeda is alive and well in Iraq. There may be sufficient threats to this country and others to require a military response, but I very much hope not. I said at the start of my remarks that I could touch on only a few of the...

Iraq and Weapons of Mass Destruction (24 Sep 2002)

Mr Bruce George: ...than what is necessary for the international community. I hope that the United States is not simply pretending to go down the route of diplomacy and that it has a dual policy of putting pressure on Iraq by military mobilisation alongside persuasion through the United Nations. Secondly, I hope that there will be a new resolution that will give the United Nations the authority that it...

Iraq (17 Dec 1998)

Mr Bruce George: This really is deja vu all over again. We have had debates in the Chamber following earlier crises, and we have seen a pattern of recidivism in the regime in Iraq, against international law, which takes the form of the thwarting of UNSCOM's efforts. UNSCOM has the legitimacy conferred by United Nations Security Council resolution 687 of 1991; it goes about its work; then, as the Prime...

Orders of the Day — Arms Control and Disarmament (Inspections) Bill [Lords] (9 Jul 1991)

Mr Bruce George: ...inadequate. Anyone who has observed pictures taken by satellite will have seen that they are not sufficient. One knows now the difficulties that the allies had in detecting the extent to which Iraq had succeeded in developing nuclear weapons. Despite all the superior satellite reconnaissance we still appear to have been left very much in the dark about the extent of the Iraqi capability,...

Prayers: Kurds in Iraq (Political Future) (28 Mar 1991)

Mr Bruce George: I have supported virtually everything that the Government have done during the past few months. The Select Committee on Defence visited Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Bahrain last week. Is the Minister sure that in this volatile situation—especially with the requirement that Iraq complies with the terms of the ceasefire—there are sufficient British forces remaining in the Gulf for the...

The Gulf (31 Jan 1991)

Mr Bruce George: ...reporting by the Secretary of State to the House. I do not expect the Secretary of State to respond to every rumour, but is he in a position to confirm or deny that some of the aircraft that left Iraq for Iran have been shuttling back and forth from that country? What does that say about the Iraqi aims? Is the right hon. Gentleman able to confirm the story, again emanating from the United...

The Gulf (21 Jan 1991)

Mr Bruce George: ...violence. We do not have the intense fervour of those days in 1914 or of some other wars. There is a resignation that war is inevitable—a resignation that no amount of negotiations with Iraq would have succeeded. The overwhelming majority of the population accepted the inevitable conclusion of this conflagration—a war that we did not seek but a war that must be successfully...

The Gulf (11 Dec 1990)

Mr Bruce George: ...and international law. It is critical that every effort should be made to prevent the spread of the arms trade, which has been the source of so many problems. We must keep up military pressure on Iraq. We must sustain the military build-up to give a signal to Saddam Hussein that, militarily as well as politically, his options are running out. We must work hard to prevent the fragmentation...

Royal Air Force (28 Feb 1990)

Mr Bruce George: ...securing their borders and increasing diplomatic initiatives outside their borders, have become substantial military forces. The Soviet Union has exported missiles which have been adapted by Iran, Iraq and Syria. According to SIPRI, about 20 countries probably have a ballistic missile capability. Many of those have the capability, some potentially and others actually, to put some form of...