Letter: What if the UN says no?

DR O'PREY says that the 1939-45 war "taught us that it is short- sighted and dangerous to humiliate and ruin a proud nation" (letter, 21 February), but our leaders have still not learnt that it was folly in 1919 to humiliate and ruin the Arabs.

They were divided between a multitude of governments, set up without consultation; one of their most sacred territories was designated for Western colonisation; and their oil wealth was placed in the hands of a tiny minority and used largely to enrich the West.

Britain has a major share of the blame for the subsequent growth of extremist movements. If we join the USA in bombing Iraq, we shall only reopen and deepen the wound.

P J STEWART

Oxford