Letter: Iraq resolution

ROBIN COOK convinced me that action must be taken to stop Iraq using its weapons of mass destruction. Saddam's stated aim is to destroy Tel Aviv, which he tried to do the first time. If he succeeds this time, he will be a hero to many Arabs, which explains their reluctance to support the United States and Britain. It explains, too, the same reluctance of countries with strong trading links with Iraq, such as Russia, or countries with a large Arab community, such as France. If Saddam succeeds in hitting Israel, the same people writing in your columns will complain that the US and Britain should have stopped him while there was still time.

W R HAINES

London SE27