WAR AGAINST IRAQ: WE are told that the war with Iraq is effectively over.

Only time will reveal the consequences of Saddam Hussein's removal and in doing so decide who was right and who was wrong.

However, in the here and now, Iraq is not the only country which needs to undergo rebuilding, Britain needs rebuilding as well.

The rebuilding of which I speak is not of bricks and mortar, but the rebuilding of our communities and society as a whole.

No matter what our race, creed or colour, there is more to unite us than to divide us, but divisions between haves and have nots, pro this or anti that, race, religion, ethnic group, age, gender and even football teams, have and are creating divisions which are dividing our communities and slowly tearing this country apart.

We need to start talking and listening to each other, including those whom we may fear or distrust; listen to their viewpoint, explain ours and find a compromise, even if it's agreeing to disagree. Because if we don't start healing the divisions we will all pay the price and only have ourselves to blame. - C T Riley, Spennymoor.

PETE Winstanley (HAS, Apr 7) suggests that I got my facts wrong in blaming Saddam Hussein for six million Arab deaths and that I was confusing him, poor man, with Hitler.

I only know Saddam Hussein's well known record - three major international wars, several civil wars and a quarter of a century or more of state terror in Iraq - support the accuracy of my figure of six million rather than Mr Winstanley's of one million. I would also suggest that to appear to be defending someone on the grounds that they have only killed one million people, you have to be employing some very strange ethical criteria yourself.

As regards Mr Winstanley's attribution to me of the claim that most Arabs support the Anglo-American coalition, he needs to get his own facts right, for I made no such claim.

I said, in the letter concerned, that the true heirs of ancient Arab civilisation are to be found in 'the decent silent majority' of Arabs rather than the more militant and vocal elements active in or with links to, the Middle East today. - T Kelly, Crook.

AS I heard Colin Powell's warning to Syria to cease supporting terrorism and cease being a haven for terrorists, for some odd reason I remembered how, between 1969 and 1999, an estimated 3,637 men, women and children had been killed as a result of the troubles in Northern Ireland.

I also remembered how, of these, 3,190 had been murdered by terrorists, many of whom used munitions supplied or paid for by the US and how many of these killers were given sanctuary in the US and full citizenship.

Such a warning by Colin Powell is even more hypocritical given that, by definition, a terrorist is someone who ignores the law, diplomacy and the democratic process to use violence and terror to bring about regime change, which in essence is the policy of America's war against terrorism. - H E Smith, Spennymoor.

RETAIL PARK

I VISITED the new Dalton Park on Saturday. On the opening weekend the centre was predictably busy.

However, it was most distressing to hear the centre's car park attendants using the most basic industrial language imaginable as they shouted instructions to one another.

I'm a broad-minded soul with a pretty tough disposition, but I was shocked by what I heard.

Dalton Park may be a shining £50m development, but the staff certainly left me with a badly tarnished impression. - S Warren, Sedgefield.

RECYCLING

NATIONAL recycling problem? Easy. Give every house a large plastic bag for paper, tins, bottles and textiles which they leave out with the waste.

As the refuse lorry deals with the non-recyclable stuff, a smaller van empties the plastic bags, sorting the contents for reprocessing. There - problem solved. - Aled Jones, Bridlington.

SPEED CAMERAS

THE Northumbria Safety Camera Partnership, which consists of the five metropolitan boroughs of Tyne and Wear plus Northumberland County Council, Northumbria Police, health trusts, University of Newcastle, Crown Prosecution Service and magistrates courts, recently announced that the Government has agreed that the partnership can purchase additional speed and red light cameras, using some of the money raised by fines in an attempt to reduce road traffic collisions in the force area.

I know a number of your readers may be concerned at what some see as a tax on motorists and I feel it is important to reassure them about what is happening.

First of all, there are strict criteria where speed cameras can operate and that is where history shows people being seriously injured or killed.

There are also criteria that require cameras to be visible and the partnership will meet this.

Not one penny more than is actually spent on speed camera and red light enforcement can be recovered. There is certainly no profit element for members of the partnership. The only motivation is to make our roads safer.

The partnership will regularly report to the Government on its activity and results and careful scrutiny will ensure the Government's criteria for camera deployment are being followed.

Hopefully, this letter will reassure those who have concerns over this type of police activity and inform those who do not know the rationale behind it.

The system uses a portion of speeding fines - rather than taxpayers' money - to make our roads safer. - Robert Pattison, Chief Superintendent, Operational Support, Northumbria Police.