Madam, - In the absence of a popular uprising by the peoples of Iraq in favour of the coalition forces it seems the Americans and British are destined to fail even if they succeed in winning the war. Their continued presence in the region, I feel, will not be accepted by the Iraqi people and cannot be sustained without popular support. The British, of all people, should know better, having lost their empire once they lost popular support in their colonies.
The change has to come from within and not be imposed from without as was the case in Cuba, Iran, India, Ireland and even America itself. Sadly, no matter how evil the regime people will probably prefer tyranny from within to liberation from outside. - Yours, etc.,
SEAN HIGGISSON,
Hartland Road,
The Lough,
Cork.
Madam, - I wonder if the families of those killed while going about their daily business in a Baghdad market will be eternally grateful to the "coalition" bombers who liberated them from this life?
Shame on us all. - Yours, etc.,
MARY O'CARROLL,
Castle Avenue,
Clontarf,
Dublin 3.
Madam, - It is interesting that Richard Perle (The Irish Times, March 22nd) acknowledges the US administration's desire to usurp the function of the United Nations. He contemptuously dismisses it as the "chatterbox on the Hudson". Mr Perle and the rest of them may well have cause to regret a headstrong military adventure.
In the meantime I think it shameful that Bertie Ahern should quote the passage of American planes through Shannon during the Vietnam War in support of continuing this practice. Has he lost all sense of shame as well as history? Does he not know what happened in Vietnam and in the neighbouring country of Kampuchea which was flattened, with up to 500,000 civilian casualties, as a result of carpet-bombing by the United States? Would he similarly have offered comfort and assistance, were it geographically possible, in adventures such as the attempted CIA coup against the President and people of Venezuela documented in a recent excellent RTÉ programme?
May I suggest that the American-inspired phrase describing the war as "Operation Iraqi Freedom" is a insult to our intelligence. The present US administration couldn't give a tinkers' curse for freedom, democracy or civil rights, at least as generally understood in Europe. They have demonstrated this time and time again.
It should not occasion any surprise that the Iraqi people are putting up a stiff resistance. They are not fighting for Saddam Hussein, even though the US administration's criminal folly has driven them into his arms. They are fighting to protect their homes and their families as any human being would.
I have heard many voices suggesting that, whatever the morality of the situation, the US had this little island by its economic short and curlies. I also recall Mary Harney's phrase about being "closer to Boston than Berlin". Perhaps it is time we reorientated ourselves in the direction of Europe and started taking measures to lessen our dependence on the United States, which has proven itself to be beyond morality, beyond justice and beyond decency. - Yours, etc.,
Senator DAVID NORRIS,
Seanad Éireann,
Dublin 2.
Madam, - Patrick Hurley's piece in your edition of March 27th is long on the connections between Ireland and America but short on reasons why Ireland should support an illegal war against Iraq. The Irish people do indeed share the values of democracy and rule of law with our European partners. Would that the US government also shared them. - Yours, etc.,
PETER CULHANE,
St John's College,
Cambridge,
England.
Madam, - Damian Byrne (March 26th) dismisses the threat from Muslim extremists by referring to them as "handfuls of ill-equipped Islamic terrorists." It seems he has forgotten that 19 such poorly equipped men hijacked four aeroplanes full of innocent people on September 11th, 2001 causing the deaths of thousands in the worst terrorist attack in world history.
Furthermore, it has become commonplace among anti-war protesters to cite the 2,800 dead in the World Trade Centre as but a fraction of the numbers of innocent people that may be killed in a war against sponsors of global terrorism, and making such anti-terrorist action entirely unjustifiable.
I would like to remind readers that the hijackers of those planes did not set out to kill only a handful of people on that day, but to rip the hearts out of New York City and Washington DC. If it wasn't for the extreme bravery and sacrifice of the New York City fire and police departments, the passengers of Flight 93, and the amazing structural resilience of the Twin Towers, the number of dead would have easily numbered in the tens of thousands.
This in no way condones the loss of civilian lives in warfare, but the scale of inhumanity that Islamic fundamentalists possess seems to have been forgotten in the rhetoric appearing in these letters pages.
While I am aware that the links between al-Qaeda and Saddam Hussein's regime are weak, such gross misrepresentation of the facts of the last two years simply supports the argument that Western nations have nothing to fear from evil dictators and violent religious fundamentalism. Sadly, I feel that we no longer have the luxury to ignore such truths. - Yours, etc.,
JAMES BOYLE,
Pudding Row,
Dublin 8.
Madam, - It is a sad fact of life that sometimes our worst fears are realised (ref. my "pre-war" letter of March 5th) - but never before on such a scale. The full repercussions have yet to emerge.
How could the most powerful man in the world have got it so wrong - tackling a United Nations which reflected world public opinion, threatening irrelevance to the UN if it wouldn't go along with his determination to attack Iraq, and then asking the same body to pick up the pieces when the conflict is over. - Yours, etc.,
D.J. DILLON,
Carysfort Avenue,
Blackrock,
Co Dublin.
Madam, - I would like to commend our present Government for continuing to aspire to the achievement of excellence set out in its pre-election campaign - excellence in the utterance of empty words and false promises, excellence in the fulfilment of misleading actions and most of all, excellence in the execution of deceitful and evasive tactics.
Is it not reassuring that in this current climate of such uncertainty, there is one constant we can rely on. And the Oscar for (non) supporting actor in a military role goes to. . . - Yours, etc.,
MARY RYAN,
Monard,
Co Tipperary.
Madam, - In the Dáil debate of March 19th, the debased brand of international friendship and loyalty endorsed by the Taoiseach and Tánaiste reminded me once again of a wry little story that went the rounds some years ago. I update it slightly:
Two men were standing on the side of a quiet country road - somewhere in Ireland - when a car approached from the direction of the nearby cross-roads and drew up beside them. "Lovely day, gentlemen," said the driver. "It most certainly is," said the more outgoing of the two locals, beaming into the car.
"Beautiful country you've got here."
"It certainly is, sir."
"Tell me, this is the right road back to the airport, isn't it?"
"It certainly is, sir."
And the tourist drove off, further assured by the smile and the waving hand in his rear mirror.
The quieter man, in some astonishment, gazed after the disappearing car, then rounded on his companion: "He's gone completely astray! Why didn't ye tell him?"
"Ah," said the other, "such a fine friendly man, - sure I couldn't be disagreein' with him."
Enough said, I think. - Yours, etc.,
FRED O'CALLAGHAN,
Deansgrange,
Co Dublin.
Madam, - How sad that having struggled for about 800 years to achieve our freedom we have only exchanged one set of colonial masters for another. - Yours, etc.,
M.M. IRELAND,
Priory Avenue,
Blackrock,
Co Dublin.
A chara, - Both Drapier last Saturday and your Editorial on Tuesday cited with some sarcasm a proposal I made in the course of the Dáil debate on the war on Iraq. I find it strange that weapons of mass destruction can be a cause of amusement for Drapier but that is a matter for him/her. What I find deeplyironic is that the laughter in the Dáil chamber came from those who, having uttered pious platitudes about the UN, went on to vote for this State to facilitate a war, the prelude to which was the tearing up of the UN Charter by the British and US Governments.
I make no apology for calling on states to dispense with weapons of mass destruction. The Sinn Féin position is in keeping with our commitment to comprehensive demilitarisation at home. We want all weapons of mass destruction decommissioned. No one should hold them, or to try to develop them. States that currently hold them should lead by example. This should include Iraq (if they have such weapons), but also Israel, which holds approximately 400 nuclear warheads, and the US, which holds approximately 10,000 nuclear warheads. The issue has to be dealt with comprehensively on a multilateral basis.
Your Editorial characterised the proposed "sanctions" mechanism arising out of the current peace process talks as "an oversight body that would monitor any IRA activity and, if necessary, recommend sanction against Sinn Féin". This reinforces the point I made in the Dáil again on Wednesday that the sanctions would be used against one party and could become another stumbling block to progress, despite the Taoiseach's assurances that this would not be so.
There are more than adequate safeguards in the Good Friday Agreement to ensure that all parties, including Sinn Féin, fulfil their obligations.
We in Sinn Féin will not be discriminated against. We uphold our equal right as a party to state our position on the war in Iraq, the Irish peace process and all issues that concern us and the electorate from whom we receive our electoral mandate. - Is mise,
CAOIMHGHÍN Ó CAOLÁIN TD,
Teach Laighean,
Baile Átha Cliath 2.
Madam, - The United Nations has continually failed to oppose aggression. Only twice has it opposed aggression by force, and both times it was led by the United States. Since 86 million people have died worldwide in wars since 1945, one must ask: "Where has the United Nations been?" The answer is : "In New York twiddling its thumbs and making sanctimonious statements." It has made itself irrelevant.
Were an aggressor country to invade Ireland, who would come to our aid? The United Nations? Hardly. The United States? In a heartbeat.
The United Nations performs very well when it comes to peacekeeping and humanitarian missions. It is useless when dealing with evil. It is not enough to walk softly and carry a big stick, one must be ready willing and able to wield that stick when necessary.
Europe and the United Nations either cannot or will not; therefore the burden falls once again to the United States and its friends. - Yours, etc.,
MYLES McMANUS,
Foxwood,
Swords,
Co Dublin.
Madam, - In The Irish Times of March 19th reference is made to 45 nations supporting the US military action in Iraq according to Colin Powell. Fifteen of these nations do not wish to be publicly named, he said.
Could it be confirmed if the Republic of Ireland is one of these? - Yours, etc.,
MICHAEL McNAMARA,
Kincora Park,
Clontarf,
Dublin 3.
A chara, - We are only too sadly aware of the proliferation of war criminals throughout the world, most especially dictators backed and armed by the imperial powers such as America, Britain and France. Alas, most of them will never see the inside of a jail.
We are now creating a new kind of criminal - the anti-war criminal - and more is the pity that all of these are destined to see the inside of jails ... Dia idir sinne agus an t-olc! - Is mise,
PADRAIG Ó CUANACHÁIN,
Sean Bothar na nEochaille,
Corcaigh.
Madam, - Paul Delaney (March 26th), in response to Enda Kenny's comment about the 52nd US state, asks the name of the 51st state. May I suggest "Great Britain"? - Yours, etc.,
AIDAN O'CARROLL,
Clonard Road,
Dublin 12.