Madam, - Ted Verity (July 5th) questions Vincent Browne's sanity over his interpretation of the media hype surrounding the recent failed "terrorist" attacks (Opinion, July 4th).
I think he has missed Mr Browne's main points.
Firstly, these were relatively minor incidents carried out by a small group of amateurs - in contrast to, for instance, the well-equipped and skilled armies sent out to Iraq by the US and UK governments for self-motivated reasons - and are therefore the hysteria and scare-mongering is unwarranted.
Secondly, why should we be so surprised that Muslims may feel antipathy towards the West, whose constant interference in Israel/Palestine, Iran, Iraq, and Turkey clearly shows how little regard Western leaders have for them.
- Yours, etc,
BRIAN DALY, Abbeyside, Dungarvan, Co Waterford.
Madam, - According to Vincent Browne's nonsensical argument, the recent bungled terrorist attacks in Britain are a direct result of Western support for the state of Israel and opposition to Turkey's membership of the EU.
As a way of pacifying extremists (as opposed to actually dealing with the problems within Islam) he recommends returning Israel to its pre-1967 borders and funding a "new Palestinian state". With Palestine in turmoil and relentless pressure from Hezbollah and Iran, he is effectively asking the region's only democratic state to throw out the sandbags before the flood arrives. If Israel returns to a pre-1967 situation and conflict in the region persists will Mr Browne and others push for a pre-1946 scenario? After all, there will be no other card left for Israel to play.
He also promotes a simplistic approach to tackling terrorism in all its forms - "talking to them" and "co-opting them" - citing our success in dealing with the IRA as an example.
These conclusions do not stand up to any scrutiny. The war of attrition with the IRA had reached saturation point by the time any serious progress was made regarding a peace deal, and in any event talks had been taking place to broach a deal since the early 1970s to little avail. By then much damage had been done.
Our solution was unique to this country and set of circumstances. One could not possibly apply these unique dynamics to international religious extremism. Our problem was essentially political, while those which have emerged from Islamic extremism are driven by an unorthodox interpretation of a perfectly decent religion. One solution does not fit all.
Mr Browne would be much better advised to do the right, but politically incorrect, thing and support the majority of decent and concerned Muslims who are trying not to hide from the problem within their own faith, a problem which has shamed and embarrassed them. For too long we have been seduced by the whiff of cordite, the glamour of the fanatic, whether it is our own or a reflection of our own.
- Yours, etc,
IAN COX, Courtown Road, Gorey, Co Wexford.
Madam, - I congratulate Vincent Browne on his sensible and reasoned comments on the terrorist attacks in the UK. The level of violence inflicted on some countries in Western Europe by Muslim extremists pales into insignificance when compared with the violence inflicted by the West on the Muslim world.
We now have the Australian government admitting for the first time that its motivation for joining the illegal invasion of Iraq was to secure oil supplies. At least it is to be congratulated for its honesty, even if integrity and morality seem totally absent.
For decades, the West has interfered in the affairs of the Middle East and exploited that region and its people. From the ill-fated Suez invasion to the equally doomed invasion of Iraq, there has been an almost total disregard for the best interests of the people of the Middle East. The Iraq invasion has caused the greatest human catastrophe since the second World War, with tens of thousands killed and millions displaced.
This humanitarian disaster receives little coverage in our press, yet when one BBC reporter is kidnapped in Gaza, it appears the world is about to end. We really have a set of values which are in effect racist. The life of a Western European is quite clearly more "valuable" than the life of an Arab. The suicide bomber is driven to desperation by the lack of interest in his or her plight.
The threat from so-called Islamic terrorism will decline in proportion to the extent to which the West is prepared to address the injustices in the Middle East in a serious way. The appointment of Tony Blair as a peace envoy does not suggest that the world community is yet ready to do this.
The days of meddling in the affairs of the Middle East with complete impunity are over, however. Western governments, whose primary duty is the security of their people, would do well to remember this.
- Yours, etc,
ALAN McPARTLAND, Grange Court, Rathfarnham, Dublin 16.