Opposition
From Mr. J. Sillars, Surrey Quays, London, UK.
Opposition to a U.S.-led war against Iraq is growing with France and Germany vowing to prevent conflict through the UN. Germany now finds it has a key role in international affairs again, as it starts its two-year presidency of the UN Security Council.

Germany showing its hand in this way will surely not encourage America that its efforts to use the UN to sanction an attack on Iraq will be successful. France has a crucial veto too.

We will now see President Bush side step the UN and take on Saddam Hussain unilaterally with all the international tension that would generate.

Opposition to a war is growing among the people of the "Western world" too but I would say we only hear this voice thanks to the freedoms we enjoy outside Iraq.

You won't see Iraqi TV showing the bodies of the hundreds of thousands Saddam has murdered or speaking to the millions of Iraqis sick of his dictatorship and greed.

His son Uday owns and runs Iraq's main newspaper! I can't see a headline 'Saddam in mass murder shocker'. Can you? I don't hear Iraqis say they want to get rid of Saddam because they have no voice.

Proof of weapons
From Mr. D. Mullings, Dubai.
Why do America and Britain need inspectors to find out if Iraq has weapons? All they have to do is look at the receipts.

Point of view
From Mr. J. Wampole, Sacramento, California, USA.
I enjoyed reading the article "Bin Ladenism greater threat to Islamic world" (Gulf News Online, January 17). It is one of the rare instances or positive, non-religious thinking presented to the Western world.

More of this type of writing, viewed by the West would make a great difference in the perspective seen by America and others.

This is not a war against Islam; it is a war with backward thinking. The only time I read about this being a religious war, it comes from the Arab world.

Vulnerable
From A Reader, Sharjah.
If Bush thinks Iraq will be a siege of Troy he should also remember every Achilles has a vulnerable spot.
* Name withheld by request.

Saddam's profile
From Mr. Abdulrab Bin Daar, Abu Dhabi.
The BBC's John Simpson, the greatest and the most underpaid television journalist in the world, recently profiled Saddam Hussain in one of his informative documentaries. He showed Saddam as a boy and as a youth. He said Saddam never received any formal education.

Saddam never wore a pair of shoes until he was 11. His stepfather treated him brutally until he "escaped from him" (presumably fled his home to go and live rough in the streets).

This was a contributory factor to Saddam's killer instincts and his mental backwardness that makes him live in a pre-Islamic and pre-Biblical era today.

CNN's Jonathan Mann, a much younger and much less experienced, but much more highly paid American television journalist, also profiled the man of the day, Saddam, a few months earlier.

In his documentary, he claimed that Saddam is an intellectual, a lawyer by qualification and a graduate from the University of Baghdad. What is the proof that Saddam has a degree in law?

Press release
From A Reader, Abu Dhabi.
It is funny when FoxNews brags about conducting "fair and balanced" news. But in reality, it has proved itself to conduct fake and biased coverage when it comes to the Middle East issues, Arabs and Muslims.

FoxNews shows complete coverage and graphic details when a couple of Israelis are killed by a suicide bomber, but completely ignores the daily atrocities committed by Israelis; the home destructions, acquiring weapons of mass destruction and their defiance of UN resolutions, which are at least five times more than UN resolutions against Iraq!

It is time for FoxNews to clean up its act and prove to the world it can conduct fair and balanced news by showing the facts of both sides to let viewers decide instead of making decisions on their behalf.
* Name withheld by request.

Greening factor
From A Reader, Sharjah.
The Sharjah Municipality received an award for "The Best Arab City for City Greenery Award". It is worth appreciating, but at the same time this greenery will survive for longer and more awards would be in line if the garbage-littered roads are cleaned.

It is disheartening to see the piles of rubbish on pavements. It could lead to pollution and epidemics.

If people do this kind of damage to the environment in Singapore, offenders will be fined heavily and asked to clean the mess themselves, be it a rich person or otherwise.

The Sharjah Municipality must take stern measures to discourage those who litter this beautiful city. If people like to stay here, they must keep the city neat and clean.
* Name withheld by request.

Excessive
From Mr. S.B., Dubai.
The Dubai Municipality tried to justify its metered parking in Karama by saying it helps "ease congestion". I live in Karama and the car-parking issue is torture.

Two huge parking areas in Karama are currently blocked due to construction of new buildings and around 200 parking slots lost in the process. To add to the misery, Dubai Municipality's "ease congestion" project had to commence at that time.

The decision-makers should drive through the Karama residential area after 2200 hours to see if they can justify their "ease congestion" project.

The authorities mentioned parking is free from 2100 hours. But what about those who are at home earlier? Perhaps, Dh1 is not much if you park for one hour, but for three to four hours every day, it is expensive.

Also consider those people who leave for work around 0830 hours - they have to pay an extra dirham for the morning too.

The "ease congestion" project is not at all easy for residents' pockets. The Municipality should reconsider its decision at least for residential areas, which practically cover the whole of Karama.
* Full name withheld by request.

Dangerous
From Mr. G. Savilla, Dubai.
The Karama area houses many low-income families in buildings constructed in the '70s - without assigned car parking spaces.

Recently three huge parking areas with a capacity of about 500 vehicles have been cordoned off for construction. However, the authorities did not bother to inform the residents or publish plans for alternatives to these parking areas.

Now, residents park haphazardly on the roads and footpaths causing concerns to the safety of the residents.

Two years ago, a similar parking area was built upon. Yet an adjacent dilapidated building that should have been demolished instead is still standing. This dashes our hopes of any adequate development.

Foggy thoughts
From Mr. I.J. Clydesdale, Abu Dhabi.
I refer to Mr. Joseph's letter about fitting sodium vapour lights to all vehicles for use during the occasional times we have fog in this country ("Fog lights" Gulf News, January 18). I presume these are the lights that are nearly blinding other drivers.

I drive from Abu Dhabi to Mussafah every day to work and I notice that most drivers do slow do