IN wars it is always the civilians who suffer most.

Tony Blair keeps on telling us that he has no quarrel with the people of Iraq. But they are the very people who will suffer if we go to war. Why can't he see this, especially after the endless stream of apologies from America for the innocent civilians killed and non-military targets hit in Afghanistan.

It sickens me that government officials can rant and rave about life being so precious when a child is abducted and murdered, yet at the same time can casually brush off the deaths of hundreds or thousands of innocent children killed as a result of their actions.

During the war in Afghanistan one of the most frequent phrases heard at press conferences was that "in war some civilian casualties are inevitable". Well, if governments don't care about the civilians they kill, then it is up to the civilians here in the UK to speak out for these "inevitable" victims of war.

I suppose that some degree of government apathy can be understood. Let's remember that in World War Two, royalty and heads of government were tucked safely away in their bomb-proof bunkers, or were well away from London. The Blitz was only going to kill ordinary citizens, not them.

GRAHAM TATTERSALL, Bury.