In a statement, it said: "Even at this eleventh hour, the PPP is urging the U.S. and its allies to withdraw from the brink and allow the inspectors to continue working to disarm Iraq."

The war, it said, is being pushed at a time when the work of the UN inspection team has been making acknowledged progress.

It pointed out that even the day before the inspectors were forced to leave, they were involved in destroying missiles.

According to the statement, experts on Iraq have said that the regime does not have the capacity to develop nuclear war, as that capability was destroyed since the first Gulf war.

The PPP also said that war is an extreme measure that causes great destruction to property "and in our times those that have suffered the most are innocent civilians and ordinary working people."

The PPP, which doubts that such a war will make the world more stable and safe, said that "indeed the very opposite could result".

It said many are convinced that the rise of terrorism is linked to the unsolved problems in the Middle East where the Arab population feels discriminated by the West.