ROGER Westmoreland's anti-American rhetoric tells only half the story, and that half is distorted (Letters, August 9).

After being dragged into the first European war of the 20th century by the German navy sinking the Laconia and another hundred neutral ships, and having suffered great loss of life during that war, the Americans were determined to remain neutral during the second war.

This neutrality was ended when Japan bombed Pearl Harbour killing thousands of innocent people and destroying a large part of the American fleet. Within days the Japanese had sunk HMS Repulse and The Prince of Wales.

Within weeks they had invaded Malaya, Hong Kong, Java, New Guinea, The Solomons, the Philippines and Singapore among others. Like the Islamic militants today, they were contra mundum (against the world).

Roger Westmoreland calls the Americans terrorists because they dropped an atom bomb on Hiroshima, and he states that Hiroshima "had no military function". In fact it was a major shipbuilding city.

In spite of warnings that the bomb would be dropped and kill 100,000 people, the Japanese government refused to surrender and another bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. This action brought about the surrender of the Japanese and an end to the Second World War.

It also brought to an end Japanese brutality against hundreds of millions of people throughout the South Pacific and Asia, and the release of thousands of British, Australian and New Zealand servicemen, and others from slavery in concentration camps such as Changi.

Ask these people if the Americans were terrorists for dropping the bomb and their answer might rid Roger Westmoreland of some of his naivety.

Derek Martin,

Fulford Road,

York.

Updated: 11:16 Friday, August 19, 2005