The US Defence Secretary, Mr Donald Rumsfeld, was described by Mr Joe Higgins (Socialist Party) as "a criminal psychopath" during a debate on the EU Council meeting in Brussels.
Mr Higgins said that Mr Rumsfeld had been seen on television screens throughout the world, revelling in extreme violence and "deserving to be labelled a criminal psychopath, promising that we would see US violence at a level that had never before been seen."
Mr Pat Carey (FF, Dublin North West) reminded Mr Higgins that it was not appropriate to make personal attacks on foreign political figures.
Mr Higgins said while a huge majority of ordinary working people in Europe were vehemently opposed to the invasion of Iraq, incredibly the statement following the EU summit was silent on the substantive issue.
The Fine Gael leader, Mr Enda Kenny, said the EU's failure over the past six to nine months to achieve a common approach on Iraq left the Union in deep crisis.
The Labour leader, Mr Pat Rabbitte, said Europe did not now speak with the single voice it thought itself to have achieved. "Europe is divided, speaking with two discordant voices."
