LAST Saturday, February 15, was an historic day for Bermuda as it was for much of the world.

On that day millions of people, including hundreds in Bermuda, voiced an emphatic "No" to the idea of going to war against Iraq. What is more significant about this world-wide protest against war is that some of the biggest protests occurred in countries whose leaders have declared their support for the American aim to oust Saddam Hussein - but it would appear the leaders are out of touch with popular opinion.

In Bermuda's case its anti-war stance comes just over a week after the US Consul General Dennis Colman conducted an extensive interview in The Royal Gazette in effort to explain America's foreign policy with regard to Iraq and why it considers that it has to go to war with Iraq to disarm that country.

That in itself was unprecedented. Never before has an American Consul General in Bermuda felt the need to defend his country's position on a foreign policy decision in an interview in a local paper which stretched over three editions. Not only that, the Consul General also made public statements through the electronic media to further support Washington's stance, again unprecedented.

THE events of February 15 were historic in another aspect. The protest included both black and white Bermudians as well as non-Bermudian residents and so it was a cross-section of people who live in the island. It was also historic when you think that throughout the long years of Bermudian/American relations there has never been a public demonstration on the part of Bermudians or Bermuda residents over US foreign policy actions even when they directly impacted on Bermuda.

Even at the beginning of the modern Bermuda/American relationship in World War Two, when the US acquired Bermudian land to build their military bases through an agreement with Britain, despite the fact there was some initial disquiet on the part of Bermudians (mostly St. David's Islanders who faced the prospect of relocation to make way for the East End base site) there were no public protests against the move.

Nor has there ever been a public demonstration in front of the residence of an American Consul General, as happened on Saturday, when you had a throng of anti-war demonstrators singing the late Beatle John Lennon's anti-war classic (All We Are Saying Is) Give Peace A Chance.

In the aftermath of the massive demonstrations against a war with Iraq, I have heard some comments and opinions which have attempted to downplay or dismiss what the anti-war movement is saying about the US/UK war plans for Iraq.

With respect to British Prime Minister Tony Blair, some rebels in his own Labour Party are now talking openly about the prospect of him having to make a choice as to whether he wants to remain Britain's Prime Minister or continue to pursue and support America's foreign policy with regard to Iraq. And if he were ousted as a result of his pro-war stance, that would certainly be a great irony given all the talk about "regime change" in Iraq.

This pre-war crisis has had world-wide ramifications before a single foreign solider has set foot on the soil of Iraq.

IT would appear that growing anti-war sentiment is tearing apart longstanding relationships between nations that once were strong allies. There have been some nasty and crude statements exchanged between diplomats, like the Americans taking about a perceived lack of French credibility by pointing out that US troops liberated them from the Germans in two World Wars.

But we all have short historical memories. If I were a Frenchman, I would counter that by stating that if it were not for the French Navy keeping the British Navy at bay during the Americian Revolution, then perhaps America would still be paying homage to the Queen instead of President Bush. And what did American soldiers mean when they landed in France in World War Two and proclaim: "Lafayette, we are here."

Lafayette, of course, was the French soldier and statesman who fought against the British in the American War of Independence and who remains a popular folk hero in America. There are two towns named after him, one in Louisiana and the other in Indiana.

However, before I get too far away from the subject at hand, this crisis is now threatening the future of such world organisations as the United Nations. America is protesting that if the UN does not move in the direction it wants with respect to Iraq, then it faces the prospect of being an irrelevancy when it comes to world affairs.

The Americans seem to be unaware that statements like that are considered by many nations to be more than hypocritical on its part given that the United States on more than one occasion has vetoed UN resolutions deemed to go against American interests. And on the question of UN irrelevancy, many would consider that the US has long ago given the UN a hefty push in that direction by not fully paying up its UN dues.

EVEN what was once considered to be an unshakable military alliance, the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), in recent days was seen to be riven with dissension. In an 11th-hour move they have cobbled together a compromise which will allow NATO to begin to put in place a defence for Turkey if it is attacked by Iraq during a US-led war against Baghdad. Significantly, the French were not a part of that agreement.

This whole affair could also have serious implications for the future of the European Community itself, since the Americans have successfully divided Europe into so-called "old" an "new" Europe - with the latter supporting its policy on Iraq.

In my last Commentary I stated that it seems that mankind has ingrained in his genes the concept that warfare is natural for human beings. And when it comes to the struggle over power whether you are a President Bush or a Prime Minister Tony Blair or a Saddam Hussein there is really no difference. Nations and people have always struggled over power and influence and this has always led to war.

But in the wake of the massive peace demonstration held all over the world, it seems I will have to rework my initial conclusion. It is only certain political leaders and their geo-political strategists who consider they have the power to attempt to remake the world in their image, even if they have to drag the rest of us into the abyss with them.

If it was left to the ordinary folks, who have an instinct and desire just to live their lives, when it comes to the willingness to go to war and the issues are not all that clear then there is no great rush to march into battle - no matter who calls upon them to do so.