RECENTLY, comments have been made by MPs over policies to be adopted for our defence forces.

Most people agree that wars sap the nation's strength of cash and men.

Every war we have fought has resulted in the 'defeated' being more prosperous than us, the victors - Japan and Germany, for example.

I agree that we should have a defence system, but not to maintain a long-distance strike capability like that used in the Falklands.

It would be much better to concentrate resources on encircling our island with an impregnable defence, with laser weapons and rockets, and to increase funding for scientific programmes for deterrence purposes only. This leaves one question unanswered: what do we do if any enemy uses biological warfare?

I attended studies on this subject while in Singapore in 1954 and the sheer scale of damage it can do to a nation makes my hair curl.

The casualty level would make the Battle of the Somme look like a Boston Tea Party.

If this type of warfare occurs, it would wipe out any country. So let's renounce war, and stop 'culling' the people of our world.

H TAYLOR (Mr), School Street, Stacksteads.

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