Madam, - It seems that Donald Rumsfeld is accusing Iraq of destroying all of its weapons of mass destruction before the war started (The Irish Times, May 29th).
Forgive me, but isn't this exactly what the US demanded in the first place? - Yours etc.
CARL CULLINANE, Front Square, Trinity College, Dublin 2 .
Madam, - The admission by the US Defence Secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, that Iraq might have got rid of its weapons of mass destruction before the US-led invasion is a cause of the gravest concern for all citizens of this planet. If that was the case it was certainly known by US intelligence prior to the attack on Iraq. and it explains why the US troops were not wearing anti-biological and anti-chemical protective clothing when first occupying Baghdad.
We in the peace movement were always convinced that the real objective of the invasion of Iraq was the consolidation of US power in the region to ensure that Iraqi oil fields would serve US interests rather than those of the Iraqi people.
The credibility of Donald Rumsfeld lies in shreds and he should resign for having deceived so many people including our own Taoiseach and Minister for Foreign Affairs.
Now that the government of Iran is in the gunsights of the US as its next target, anything that Ronald Rumsfeld or George Bush says in defence of their actions must be treated with the utmost disbelief. - Yours, etc.,
BRENDAN BUTLER, Co-Ordinator, NGO Peace Alliance, Phibsboro Road, Dublin 7.
Madam, - I would support utterly Senator David Norris's notion that Donald Rumsfeld is a war criminal (Seanad Report, May 29th).
If there was justice in the world - justice, that is, that the US had the moral courage to sign up to - he and Madeline Albright, who made the infamous statement that the deaths of 500,000 Iraqi children through sanctions was "worth it if the job got done", would be among those to stand trial.
So would the US Marine - easily identifiable, I'm sure, if there was a will by the US military to do so - who shot an Iraqi woman in cold blood and uttered the memorable line: "I'm sorry, but the chick just got in the way."
As we marched at Shannon and in Dublin, we knew the US and UK had lied and were lying about virtually everything to do with their oil invasion of Iraq. Did our Taoiseach know they lied? Did he choose not to know? Did he care?
- Yours, etc.,
FRED JOHNSTON, Carn Ard, Circular Road, Galway.