WAR AGAINST IRAQ: TONY Blair may think of himself as another Winston Churchill, but in reality his judgement is very poor.

Thinking he could divert "tough guy" George Bush from the path of war against Iraq against the wishes of the majority of the British people is astonishing for a Labour Prime Minister.

My sympathies are with the British troops who go to the killing fields without the support of the majority of their fellow countrymen, and with the people of Iraq, who will suffer once again the horror of war at the hands of Britain and America. - Rev John Stephenson, East Herrington.

PRESIDENT George Bush has said that US prisoners of war should be treated humanely by the Iraqis and that those who did not do so would be treated as war criminals. His words must come as a great comfort to the 3,000 or so people around the world who are presently incarcerated by America without charge or trial.

They are denied access to legal representation, visits from their family or representatives of either Red Cross, Red Crescent or Amnesty International.

They are denied the legal rights that would not only cause America to reveal the evidence upon which they are being held without charge, but which would also prevent them from being chained, held in cages or from suffering mental and physical torture. - CT Riley, Spennymoor.

WE must remember the official reason we are at war with Iraq. It is to stop terrorists obtaining weapons of mass destruction.

But since by definition a weapon of mass destruction is a weapon capable of destroying on a mass scale and therefore includes grenades, mortars, explosives, machine guns, etc, aren't these the very weapons that America has been providing to terrorists for decades? - HE Smith, Spennymoor.

WITH the current situation in the Gulf, serving and ex-service men, women and their families are more greatly in the thoughts of the population.

SSAFA Forces Help is the national charity, which helps serving and ex-serving personnel and their families in need. With over 210,000 personnel currently serving in the armed forces and nearly seven million ex-service men and women, we estimate that one quarter of the population is eligible for assistance from SSAFA Forces Help.

Last year the trained volunteers in North Yorkshire helped over 500 families in need. If any of your readers think that they or a friend or family member might be eligible for our help, or if they would be interested in helping by becoming a volunteer, please get in touch with us.

We can provide practical and emotional support, including welfare, housing, financial assistance, friendship visits, health care and social work.

We will give practical help, advice and friendship particularly at this sensitive time.

Further information can be obtained from our County Office on (01904) 643397 or on our website www.ssafa-org.uk - Wendy Wood, County Publicity Officer, SSAFA.

REGIONAL GOVERNMENT

IN spite of various surveys indicating there is overwhelming support for a Regional Assembly, varying from 70-80 per cent, indications are beginning to emerge that this is not the true position.

For instance, in South Tyneside there is enormous apathy to the proposal, not least among their 60 councillors. In a recent survey only 14 bothered to return the survey form.

A total of 869 letters were sent to members of the Citizen Panel, a cross section of the people on South Tyneside, but only 198 people bothered to reply (23 per cent).

The response from the general public was even more apathetic. Although members of the general public were asked to write to the council leader, or complete a form on the Internet only 33 people bothered, out of a population of 154,000.

If this level of support is reflected across the region there is little chance of getting the majority of the people in the North-East to vote for a Regional Assembly in a referendum.

Indeed, it is doubtful if it is worth all the expense to hold one. - Stan Smith, South Shields.

MIDDLE EAST

MANY contributors in Hear all Sides attempt to blame Israel for all the troubles of the Middle East. Recently, one implied that Israel is to be likened to Iraq.

Israel is unlike Iraq for several reasons.

None of us is worried that Israel might be willing to supply chemical, biological or nuclear weapons for the use of terrorists willing to kill themselves as they attempt to kill us.

Israel has never attempted to take over another country.

Israel has no record at all of using weapons of mass destruction. Saddam Hussein has used such against his own people.

So unthreatening to its neighbours is Israel that it did not even retaliate during the Gulf War in spite of being the victim of 39 Scud missiles launched against it by Saddam Hussein.

Israel has readily made peace with all those neighbours who have invaded it and were subsequently willing to negotiate a peace. (It is hardly Israel's fault that this means only Egypt. But in this single case all of the territory won by Israel was restored.)

Israel remains the sole liberal democracy of the region. Hardly surprisingly, it sometimes shows the strains of its situation.

It is very regrettable that some people offer comfort to suicidal terrorists by attempting to blame Israel rather than those other anti-semites who wish to exterminate their neighbour. - Rev Harold Heslop, Crook.