Bush makes light of the recent war crimes committed by the coalition forces in Iraq. Meanwhile the British government is careful not to upset Bush and remarks are being carefully calculated. Many civil servants and military are being ordered to play down what has happened and to refrain from commenting.

This does not answer the question which must now be answered: Just how far into the system in Iraq do these abuses of human rights go? Who will take the responsibility? Who will answer to the people and to the law for these crimes against humanity? Some soldiers are waiting to face charges for war crimes when all they have done is to fight a war.

Britain and America have not won this war. By their actions they have lost it. They have lost the trust of the Iraqi people because of their beastly actions. People all over the world are taking notice. It is pointless for Bush and Blair to be stating that this is just a one-off incident. News coming out of Iraq proves that it is not the case. Attempts have been made to censor this news but the atrocities are so bad that censorship is no protection.

America has never signed the Geneva convention. I have often asked myself why. Do they think that by not doing so they will be allowed to travel the globe and commit crimes against humanity without fear of prosecution? Many human rights violations have been committed by the Americans over the years. Vietnam is a prime example, not to mention the bullying of other countries both commercially and politically.

Now the Americans will pay for what they have done and so will the British soldiers and their superiors. Iraqis need to see swift justice being done, the sooner the better. Failing that, there are those who are prepared to take the law into their own hands so that not only the guilty but also innocent people too will suffer.

Bush and Blair are the commanders of these forces. Just as past leaders have had to pay for their mistakes, so Bush and Blair too should be made to pay for theirs.

Are we going to see a cover-up to these crimes? Well this is one time that it will not happen. This is one time when the bullying tactics of the Blair armies will not be of any use to them. Maybe we shall learn from this that we are headed down the road to dictatorship and that we are being blackmailed and whipped into submission – brainwashed by the politically correct brigade. How long before we find our homes being invaded and searched by soldiers? Instead of the police being used as a tool by government bodies, instead of the police state we now have, we shall have a military state. It is time that the public woke up.

I care very little for the conservative members, very old and stuck in their ways as they are. But I would rather see them as the lesser evil in parliament and in our local councils.

I must admit that I am afraid. I am fifty-seven and afraid of my government. Such remarks that are associated with places like Cuba, Korea, China and the old Soviet Union. But I am afraid and so are many youngsters that I know. They see better than we do where this country is heading. Shall we become a United States of Europe governed and ruled by communists from another country? Shall we become a colony of the United States of America? To be honest, I would like to go back to the good old “Great Britain” – trade with other countries, help other countries, not be ruled by other countries.

If we are not careful, we will become another Afghanistan, Iraq, Bosnia. We ourselves will be invaded. And what then? Will we become a nuclear arsenal for the Americans or a base for the so-called European defence force? We ourselves shall become an occupied country. Blair is selling our heritage. He is selling us down the river. We have seen just how brutal our armies can be – a criminal force and, frighteningly, a force that we may one day need to protect us.

Anthony Rodgers

Sheffield

South Yorkshire, England