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The rebuilding of Iraq after the war and 12 years of sanctions will require large-scale humanitarian relief. The UK government has already set aside £300m for organisations such as Oxfam, Unicef and Save the Children to provide food and shelter, though much of it will not be allocated until there is a UN mandate for reconstruction.

In terms of social care, the implications still have to be quantified. At the British Association of Social Workers' annual conference in Cardiff recently members voiced opposition to the war. Ruth Stark, BASW's professional officer for Scotland, said it was important to "focus on what happens afterwards and ensure reconstruction is done in the spirit of working with the Iraqi people and not dominated by the US or UK governments."


David Jones, European vice-president of the International Federation of Social Workers, said the organisation would lobby to ensure that social work principles informed the reconstruction programme. Whether British social care professionals will be called on to play a prominent role has yet to be decided.

Martin Green, chief executive, Counsel and Care for the Elderly
"The idea that social work principles should inform the reconstruction of Iraq is another example of the way in which we try to impose our values, culture and structures on other societies. It is arrogant to assume that social work principles, devised and developed in our cultural norms, are necessarily appropriate for the people of Iraq. There is a major job to be done in the UK to re-establish and revitalise social work. We need to develop a consensus about what social work principles mean to us before we start to try to export them to other countries."

Felicity Collier, chief executive, Baaf Adoption and Fostering
"Despite the horrors of the devastation faced by so many of Iraq's people, the longer-term aid programme must be considered, respectful and multinational. It would be tragic for the UK to leave itself open to further accusations of imperialism. Only the UN should work with the Iraqis to develop a workable democracy, but non-governmental organisations and social workers have much to contribute to the support of traumatised families and children, many of them orphaned or separated from loved ones. The lead in this work must come from agencies such as Unicef which have so much relevant experience."


Phil Frampton, national chairperson, Care Leavers Association
"The people of Iraq have suffered terribly under another dictatorial regime that the West built up, then tore apart. Now it is time for the new challenge: the voice of the Iraqi people. The best thing that UK social care workers and the IFSW can do for social care in Iraq, at present, is to give every assistance to their Iraqi colleagues in building strong, independent trade unions."

Bill Badham, development officer, National Youth Agency
"If war is the continuation of politics by other means, then peace may simply prove the next phase of the war in Iraq. Western social care agencies must resist being the second wave of the invasion that has as its stated goal establishing the sort of democracy that ensures 'free trade' - and we all know what that means. Rebuilding Iraq can only happen through Iraqis and their neighbours under the auspices of the UN."

Bob Hudson, principal research fellow, Nuffield Institute for Health, University of Leeds
"Sadly, the realpolitik is that this war is being waged by the US in pursuit of its own narrow interests, and this will shape the post-war reconstruction. It is already clear that US companies - not the UN - will scoop all the contracts for schools and hospitals, and social care will simply be bundled in with this. Even where there is subcontracting to others, social care agencies will surely feel uncomfortable about providing support under the aegis of the stars and stripes."