CLIFF Westell's polemic (Letters, April 3) states that "George Bush believes that this is a modern crusade against Islam..." If this is a war on Islam, then why on earth attack the Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein, whose Deputy Prime Minister, Tariq Aziz, is a Chaldean Catholic, baptised Michael Yohanna?

Why pick on the Ba-ath Party, one whose links to Islam are, to put it mildly, somewhat dubious, as opposed to, for example, the fundamentalist regime in neighbouring Iran?

Iraq is a home to many religions, especially Shi'i Islam, Sunni Islam, Christianity, Yazidism and Mandeanism. The provisional constitution of 1968 stipulates that Islam is the State religion, but Iraq is, in essence, a secular nation.

'Bin Laden,' Mr Westell continues, is fancied by President Bush "as the present-day Saladin." Is he indeed? It is interesting to note that Saddam Hussein, in addition to his hero-worship of King Nebuchadnezzar II of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, also regards this noble warrior as a direct predecessor -- conveniently ignoring the fact that Saladin was a Kurd, a race brutally persecuted by Saddam's evil regime.

Mr Westell continues with what is presumably a dig at Christianity. He states that president Bush "...is aided by the hard line evangelistic Right and the creationists, many of whom are basket cases." As many of these people would probably make claims about a Zionist occupied government in the US, either the President has some strange advisors or, more likely, Mr Westell has his wires crossed somewhere along the line.

Petty name calling and and arguments more reliant on emotionalism and conspiracy theories than reasoning and facts belong to the time of the medieval crusades, Mr Westell.

It upsets Mr Westell that the Prime Minister seeks to "align himself with the extreme right wing of the USA in preference to Europe." What about Prime Minister Aznar of Spain? Is he no longer European? Are not many units from Eastern Europe involved in the Coalition offensive?

Just because France and Germany seem to believe that 12 years time for Saddam to build palaces, brutalise and terrorise at will and develop more powerful tools of war while United Nations sanctions cripple his population is not long enough doesn't mean that Mr Blair should too.

I can only hope and pray that the war is short, that casualties are kept to a minimum and that all works out for the improvement of Iraq and the empowerment of its people in the long term.

GRAHAM J ASPIN, Victoria Avenue, Cherry Tree, Blackburn.