04/01/03

The Tories are a dead loss and the Lib-Dems wishy washy, though I suspect they are anti-war.

How do you rally a nation against a totally unjustified war?

There are three groups who could rally the nation against Bush and Blair.

One - newspapers are always powerful in influencing public opinion. Napoleon once said he would rather face an army than a hostile newspaper.

Two - the trade unions: if they can go on strike for money, surely they could strike to save thousands of lives. No country can go to war without the support of the mass of workers. Remember the 1914-18 war was not won on the battlefield, but because German workers refused to support the continuation of the conflict.

Three - Labour MPs could demand a democratic vote in Parliament and if they voted against war Mr Blair would be in an impossible situation. If the Labour Party had the courage to stand up to Mr Bush and Mr Blair there would be no war.

Why should our soldiers die to feed America's insatiable appetite for oil? - Hugh Pender, Darlington.

THE leader comment's hope for peace (Echo, Dec 26) insults us with what can only be described as why not wait until Saddam nukes us and then we will have the proof.

The United Nations has a lot to answer for and its weakness must be of concern to us all when, for years, it has sat on its fat backside and allowed the likes of Saddam and terrorist organisations to fester to the point of the extinction of the human race.

The role of the inspectors is impossible and a case of too little too late. It is, as one inspector said: "Like looking for a needle in a haystack", and it will take years for any kind of satisfactory result.

While there are those who spout on about our own weapons of mass destruction, this is an issue that came about because of evil despots and their treachery on us. At least we are a democracy and these weapons have saved us from Soviet hordes and others who would have destroyed us a long time since.

The likes of Saddam Hussein and al Qaida are no longer a threat we can ignore nor, as the leader writer points out, unhinged states such as North Korea.

Preaching the gospel is one thing, denying the threat we face is another. - John Young, Crook.

SOMETIMES Hugh Pender submits letters with which I tend to agree. His contribution (HAS, Dec 28) was not one of them. His contention that innocence should be presumed until guilt is proved cannot be applied to Iraq as a country.

What must Tony Blair or George Bush do to hammer home the message that we do not have any quarrel with Iraq or with the masses of Muslim followers worldwide?

Our enemy is Saddam Hussein and his guilt is beyond dispute. He led Iraq, which he rules as a dictator, into war with Iran and into violent occupation of Kuwait. On forcible expulsion from that country he ordered the torching of its oil wells.

Saddam Hussein has manufactured or acquired weapons of mass destruction and has used them, notably against Iranian forces and his own people. If, as he claims, he no longer has these weapons, then how and where did he dispose of them?

For many years Saddam Hussein has flagrantly disregarded the terms of the agreement on which the Gulf war was ended. War against Iraq is not inevitable, but may have to be faced. - Alan Benn, Press Officer, Hambleton District Labour Party.

MOTORING

AUTHORITIES seem to be concerned about how dangerous it is for drivers of cars or lorries to be using a mobile phone when at the wheel while speeding on motorways or through built-up areas. Have any of them considered just how accident prone a driver is when smoking a cigarette?

First is the fumble to get one out of the packet. Next is the lighting up. Surely the driver's eyes are off the road while this takes place.

More deadly is the fact that, when lighting up, the match or cigarette lighter might be dropped and if not then, often the lighted fag can be accidentally dropped on the trousers or skirt, the result of which is obvious.

At the end of the smoke often the lighted butt is tossed from the car or lorry window, pedestrians can be affected by this and in the dry summer months most grass and forest fire are caused by this action. - E Reynolds, Wheatley Hill.

MODERN POLITICS

CHARLES Kennedy could well be correct in saying that politics in the UK is at a turning point (Echo, Dec 28).

Where he is incorrect, however, is to claim that his party has the answer to the problem.

All three of the leading political parties are creaking with age, stuck in traditional ruts and lacking in policies that will really serve this country, to direct us into the new century.

What is needed is a complete overhaul. A back to the drawing board on all matters, rather than the constant re-jigging and fudging of the failing system.

Such a change cannot be accomplished with any of the present main parties in control. We need the Great to be put back into Britain. We need a government which will genuinely put Britain first, not Europe, restoring pride in who we are and what we can be.

MPs should truthfully voice the views of the people they represent. They should not be forced to toe any party line. A complete change of political parties in power would free all people to vote for something other than the tired old traditional parties that are now a millstone round the neck of Britain. - EA Moralee, Billingham.