K BARNES clearly knows the Good Book.

I take it that his comment about Ecclesiastes 11.1 refers to the attack on the Trade Centre on September 11 being in retribution for America's total insularity from world events and their grossly irresponsible over-use of world resources, and I cannot help but agree that this was a tragedy waiting to happen.

However, I would wish that the rest of the world's murderous, cruel and tyrannical leaders would meet with their just fate, but so far, not Hitler, Ivan the Terrible or Stalin, who I believe died of old age, to name but a few, have suffered anything of the sort.

I hate the fact of the present war, while appreciating the reasoning behind it and my heart goes out to the families and friends of all the brave men fighting to hopefully erase the latest human scourge from the face of the earth.

But somehow I think that while his people suffer and die, Saddam will come up smelling of roses - they generally do in this unfair world of ours.

Heather Causnett,

Escrick Park Gardens,

Escrick, York.

Updated: 10:46 Friday, April 04, 2003