Iraq dossier unconvincing

In 1991 US bombers flew from British bases and bombed Iraqi water and irrigation facilities, nuclear and oil power stations.

The infrastructure of Iraq was smashed. Hundreds of thousands of people were killed.

From 1991 to 1998, UN weapons inspectors carried out 9,000 inspections destroying and putting out of action weapons and weapons production facilities. From December 1998 until the present day, the British and US airforce has systematically bombed every military installation they could find.

In all this time, the Iraqis were not even able to as much as scratch the paint of a US or British plane, let alone shoot one down. Some threat!

And we are supposed to believe the assertion in the dossier that Iraq can hit British bases in Cyprus. If so why haven't they?

The dossier is full of "maybes" "possibly" "could be" "might be." These "facts" would never stand up in a court of law. Blair's dossier is merely another stage in preparing people in this country for war against Iraq.

The Iraqi government has made it clear it will welcome UN weapons inspectors back in with unfettered access.

President Bush and his backers, representing the biggest and most powerful oil companies in the world, do not have the right to massacre thousands of Iraqis, plunge the Middle East into chaos and unleash political and economic instability in the world, just to satisfy the lust of these corporations for more profit. Nor do they have the right to hypocritically select those countries which must abide by UN Resolutions and those who don't.

If Iraq has to, fine. Then, so should Israel and depart from Palestine; so should Turkey and depart from Cyprus.

And why should the Bush administration be allowed to threaten the UN that if it doesn't do as the US wants, "the USA and its friends" (Britain?) will do it anyway? And they call Saddam Hussein a bully.

GEORGE S DAVIES, Chairman Blackburn With Darwen Stop The War Coalition, Redearth Road, Darwen.