Sir, - Whatever about the bombardment of Afghanistan, one thing is clear: bombarding Vincent Browne with abusive e-mails must stop (Opinion, October 24th). There must be a limit to the martyrdom of this man in his pursuit of justice and truth.
We would do well, however, to consider the value of Mr Browne's advice in the past. He opposed the Gulf War because "sanctions should be given a chance to work". We now know what would have happened if sanctions were relied on at that time. Saddam Hussein would still be in possession of Kuwait, with his nuclear and biological arsenal just coming into active use, while he controlled a third of the world's oil supply.
In the process, he would have successfully driven a tank through the UN Charter, doing irreparable damage to its already reduced authority. Mr Browne would probably still be opposing war because of Iraq's humanitarian crisis. Of course, other tyrants like Milosevic and the Taliban have copied Saddam's tactics: the best defence against attack is to precipitate a humanitarian crisis.
At least Iraq had a recognisable government. But it makes as much sense for the US to follow Browne's advice and negotiate with the Taliban as it makes sense for it to negotiate with the Mafia. Even before the so-called negotiation starts, the opposite side has a major victory in recognition and prestige. Mr Browne is very na∩ve to think that throwing concessions at the Taliban will make them give up their paymaster, Osama bin Laden.
The Munich route is not the way to go in this case; rather, the firm opposition of a coalition buttressed by UN support, just as in 1990. Mr Browne argues in favour of saving lives but he took no account of the lives that would have been lost had his preferred policy been followed in 1990 - at least an equal number of non-combatant deaths - probably more, once Saddam was powerful enough to attack Iran, Saudi Arabia or Israel with weapons of mass destruction.
Similarly, in this case he is taking no account of the future lives that would be lost in renewed terrorist attacks or through Taliban expansion and misrule, if his options were chosen. - Yours, etc.,
Toby Joyce, Navan, Co Meath.