Letter: Slogans which make no sense

JOAN SMITH claims to have found a "generational" disagreement about the war ("The left is having a bad war", 30 May). She contrasts the views of the over-50s with those of the young. Has she forgotten an even older generation - those who were in the armed forces in the Second World War? Yes, some of us are still alive and following events with interest not untinged with cynicism. Here, for what they are worth, are the views of one 75-year-old. The attacks on Yugoslav towns and cities are illegal, obscene, expensive and counter-productive. I have not seen one convincing argument in their favour from the young, the middle-aged or the elderly. During the Second World War we at least had leaders who seemed to know what they were doing.

JOHN KENNEDY

Oxford