HOW very typical of the overly simplistic, black-and-white thinking of those of a Blairite persuasion Peter Dawson's letter is (November 30).

How can he assume that anyone who opposed the Iraq war is a friend of terrorism? Iraq had no proven links to terrorism - Afghanistan did, but Iraq did not; Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction - though they must have had at some stage because the USA sold them to them.

Saddam was a brutal dictator who gassed a Kurdish village at Halabjah and who tortured his opponents. But US troops have tortured Iraqi prisoners and have used white phosphorus against insurgents and civilians alike in Fallujah. White phosphorus is very like napalm - an excruciating death.

We helped the US to bring this about and are now no better than Saddam.

The war was illegal (irrespective of whether Iraqis register to vote or not) as there was no clear United Nations mandate for it. Interference in another country's internal affairs (aka regime change) has always been against international law.

If it were legal then most of the leaders in Africa would be very worried men. Or perhaps Robert Mugabe might like a shot at a regime change in London since he gets on so badly with Tony Blair.

On top of all this no one ever asked the Iraqis what they wanted to happen in their own country. And worst of all, this war has not put an end to "terror" - it never could have been expected to.

Instead it has fuelled the belief that the West perpetrates gross injustices on the Muslim world - not exactly the best recipe for peaceful co-existence!

Dr R Greaves,

Morehall Close, York.

Updated: 10:54 Monday, December 05, 2005