Letter: Iraq's travails

Sir: Those like Ellen Collins (letter, 16 November) who accuse the Government of hypocrisy in its dealings with Saddam Hussein and point to a contradiction with the sentiments of Remembrance Day are seriously misreading one of the obvious parallels of modern history.

Like Hitler, Saddam Hussein is not just a politician, or even a criminal politician, he is a political criminal whose pursuit of power is marked by appalling brutality and bloodshed. Having achieved national dominance by such means, both men went on to challenge the international community in a similar way. The lack of opposition to, even sympathy for, Hitler's re-annexation of the Rhineland both surprised and emboldened him to go further, opposing international agreement by force, just as Saddam Hussein has done with Iran, the Kurds and the annexation of Kuwait.

The pretext for Hitler's larger ambition of destroying communism and "Jewish capitalism" by appealing to pseudo-racial theory is echoed in Saddam Hussein's confrontation of Western capitalism and Zionism by a sham manipulation of religious ideology. Both men had the will and means to satisfy their criminal megalomania disguised as political idealism.

Unfortunately, the only way to curtail such people is through the resolute exercise of greater power. Hitler could have been stopped long before events reached apocalyptic proportions. The same must not happen with Saddam Hussein.

D KIRKHAM

Manchester