Sir, - I was taken aback by T.P. Hayes's prejudiced and illogical letter (October 22nd, on George Bush and the American response to terrorism. For a start, it is wrong to state that "starving civilians" are being bombed in Afghanistan out of "sheer revenge".
Granted, civilians have been hit; just as in Yugoslavia, some bombs found the wrong targets; but we must never forget that war always brings unplanned casualties. The aim of the campaign is to make the world a safer place for honest, law-abiding citizens.
What would T.P. Hayes like Mr Bush to do in the wake of September 11th? Perhaps the American president should sit down and write a letter to the leaders of every country in the world that harbours terrorists, encouraging each one to continue promoting terrorism! Surely a point is now reached when something must be done to discourage such regimes. As far as the Bush rhetoric goes, the criticisms seem to be coming from a minority of people who still insinuate that he did not get a clear enough majority in his election for president. He is backed in this campaign by the vast majority of American people, who do not relish the idea of being victims of suicide-bombers or chemical weapons. - Yours, etc.,
Michael Walsh, Maywood Park, Dublin 5.