Letters: Mar. 27, 2006

On the Way to Civil War? Our report on the warfare between Sunni and Shi'ite Muslims in Iraq provoked many readers to conclude that the situation is indeed civil war and should have been expected. Some readers contested the idea that the U.S. invasion sparked the fire, while others offered hope for peace

As long as the eye-for-an-eye mentality dominates Middle East thought and behavior, there is little hope for a peaceable solution to Iraq's incipient civil war [March 6]. The philosophy of perpetual retaliation is devoid of love and not a part of God's plan for the human family. It is time to bury the sword and put on the mantle of love that should be worn in churches, synagogues and mosques everywhere.

PAUL L. WHITELEY SR. Louisville, Ky.

Before the usual voices claim that the sectarian violence in Iraq is evidence of the futility of toppling Saddam Hussein, consider that the worst repressor of individual freedom in the Middle East--Iran--is still busy fomenting strife among its neighbors. Iran's militant regime is sowing chaos in the Middle East as it goes flat out to develop nuclear weapons. It needs a distracted West and a war-torn Iraq to accomplish that goal.

TOM MINCHIN Melbourne, Australia

The choice in Iraq increasingly seems to be between imposing a police state or unleashing a civil war. Given the fractured history of the country and the divided makeup of the population, those two possible outcomes were predictable before the U.S.'s invasion in 2003. Bush's war has taken a bad but stable situation under Saddam Hussein and made it worse for Iraqis and the world.

ROBERT J. INLOW Charlottesville, Va.

I can't accept the argument that the escalating sectarian violence in Iraq has nothing to do with 24 years of Sunni oppression of Shi'ites and Kurds under Saddam but is the result of the incompetent U.S. invasion. What about the passion to avenge atrocities committed by the former regime? The U.S. can't be blamed for that. Still, Iraqis are probably better off with a dictator, somebody to force them to get along. They thrive on dictatorships and blood feuds.

MICHAEL KLENA Baltimore, Md.

If the Shi'ites and the Sunnis refuse to cooperate, let them form separate states. Otherwise, they will continue to battle. Dissolving the former Soviet Empire and breaking up its satellite states like Yugoslavia made sense. So does separating Iraq.

BOB MASON St. Albert, Alta.

Chemical Reaction

More than four years have passed since terrorists attacked the U.S., too long to wait for legislation to protect the country's essential chemistry industry [March 6]. The American Chemistry Council, representing companies that make approximately 85% of U.S. chemical products, supports federal legislation to give the Department of Homeland Security authority to secure chemical facilities across the U.S. It's not often that an industry asks to be regulated, but homeland security and the protection of America's vital assets must be addressed as a national priority.

JACK N. GERARD PRESIDENT AND CEO AMERICAN CHEMISTRY COUNCIL Arlington, Va.

Of Ports and Politics