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In recalling the 1945 cover of Hitler with an X across his face, you said, "But like Hitler, Saddam became the target of a U.S.-led war" [TO OUR READERS, April 21]. I have the distinct memory that Britain was in the vanguard of the Second World War for several years before the U.S. entered the struggle. Perhaps this was a classic example of leading from behind? JOHN CARR Swansea, Wales
Baghdad Barbie
I did not know whether to laugh or cry at the photo of an Iraqi boy staring in wonder at the larger-than-life painting of a Barbie doll on a looted wardrobe door in Baghdad [IMAGES OF WAR, April 21]. I thought of 20th century artists who painted to shock (Dali) or promote an ironic view of American commercial icons (Warhol). None hit the mark of image and meaning that this photo does. CHARLIE RICHARDSON Atlanta
It's All in the Definition
The only weapons of mass destruction I need to validate the war in Iraq are the two hands of Saddam [COVER STORY, April 21]. Every day we see evidence of atrocities committed by this evil man and his henchmen, from torture chambers to tattered and starving children. The world will be a better place without Saddam, the personification of evil. MARY ELLEN LUKASIEWICZ Cumberland, R.I.
Saddam and his bloody enforcers were weapons of mass destruction. They were just as lethal as the missiles, gases, chemicals and other weapons that Hans Blix and his team of U.N. inspectors searched for. The weapons were a villainous leader and blindly loyal, amoral killers who targeted their own people. The damage and destruction to the Iraqis were massive in terms of lives, well-being, liberties, property and national resources. Saddam destroyed the hopes and aspirations of an entire generation of his people. JACK MODZELEWSKI London
Feelings of Unease
Many of us have serious doubts about the U.S. government and deplore its foreign policy [COVER STORY, April 21]. The invasion of Iraq was unnecessary. True, the dictator has gone, but the people have paid a terrible price. Few Iraqis feel "liberated." Can we be blamed for feeling uneasy about the future? It's hard to ignore the U.S.-wrought trail of wreckage and carnage extending from Nicaragua to El Salvador to Chile to Vietnam to Cambodia--and now to Iraq. GERALD W. HANKINS Canmore, Alta.
Liberation for Iraq, they say! What about the Saudi Arabian government? It tolerates no dissent, practices such barbaric punishment as mutilation and decapitation for criminals and has little regard for women's rights. Yet the U.S. has nothing to say about this! The main goal of U.S. foreign policy is to protect, preserve and enhance American economic and strategic interests worldwide. REYNARD HING Manila
The war has left Iraq in ruins. As anarchy, looting and terror set in, Americans weren't even able to protect the country's infrastructure. They did, however, find ways to ensure that the oil fields remained intact. The world can now see what the real agenda was. BOB PETRAS Terrace, B.C.
Saddam may have been a dictator, but Bush and Blair were ruthless in attacking Iraq against the world's will, killing innocent people through heavy bombing. SAIDA BANO Karachi
Rebuilding Iraq