Hardly anyone I know seriously believes Saddam Hussein has massive stockpiles of terrible weapons.

The UN inspectors could not find such weapons and, not surprisingly, the invading coalition troops can't find them either.

Tony Blair has got himself wedged into a position out of which he cannot wriggle.

However, he may still need to do so in order to ensure his own political survival.

Given what the people of Iraq are suffering and saying, how much longer can Messrs Blair, Hoon and others keep up the pretence of a "liberating" army in Iraq?

George Bush on TV thumped the table and declared: "The people of Iraq will be liberated." He only just stopped himself from adding: "And we are gonna bomb them until they are."

And what of the young American and British soldiers out there, more of whom are being killed or maimed through accidents and "friendly fire" than by Iraqi action?

There is a strange and terrible irony in the similarity between the way the despot Saddam is oblivious to the opinions and feelings of ordinary Iraqis and the way democratic Bush and Blair are riding roughshod over the groundswell of popular opinion in the US and UK.

Since its creation at the end of the First World War, Iraq has been manipulated continuously by Western powers, particularly Britain.

Nevertheless, despite all Saddam's hideous crimes during the past 40 years or so, he is today the only Middle Eastern leader who has consistently stood up to the Western powers and has had the political skill and acumen to turn the pressure to his own advantage, aided by the duplicity and confusion in the West's own policies towards Iraq (including the French government, which has suddenly donned the garments and adopted the voice of a saint).

Saddam has been able to prove his superiority in the international world of realpolitik every time.

For this reason alone, ordinary Muslims the world over regard him as a hero.

No amount of post-war economic bribes of reconstruction, aid or the offer of "new roadmaps" on Palestine will reduce the anger accompanied by disgust and rejection of the West and its values among such people.

It will contribute only to the nurturing of even more bin Laden clones.

At the time of the First Crusade at the end of the 11th Century, a rag-tag "coalition" of Europeans invaded Palestine on the pretext of defending the Holy Lands against Muslim infidels.

They could not or would not see the same area was also Holy Lands to Muslims.

The sub-agenda at that time was the domination of the overland spice trade routes to the east. Is it really very different today?

For "defending the Holy Lands" then, substitute the words "the destruction of massive stockpiles of terrible weapons" today.

For "spice trade routes" then, read "oil" now. The lack of legitimacy for war today is no less than it was 900 years ago.

No wonder we seldom learn from history.

-J K Baksi, St Swithuns Terrace, Lewes