SIR - Some people are not convinced that our Prime Minister has made a clear enough case for war. I believe the main reason for this is his past domestic policy actions. The saying "If you cry wolf too many times, eventually no-one will believe you" springs to mind.

We have also seen tense times within the diplomatic negotiations in NATO and the United Nations. France will be their typical self, but I believe the United Nations will gather the nine-vote majority required to pass a second resolution.

When this happens we must not forget that it will be our sailors, soldiers and airmen that will have to carry out these orders. The time for discussion will then be over.

These are the best armed forces in the world, and we must then back our armed forces throughout the conflict, and afterwards as they work to bring order and democracy to Iraq.

As an ex-serviceman, and with a brother serving in the Parachute Regiment assigned to 16 Air Assault Brigade, who are in Kuwait awaiting orders, I would be ashamed of this country if we didn't back our armed forces.

There will be many more servicemen with ties to Bradford, and we must not let them down!

Councillor Andrew Smith (Con, Queensbury), Chapel Street, Queensbury.

SIR - I am amazed that after watching and reading all the comments with regard to the war with Iraq, I am just beginning to hear some reference or realisation that:

l Saddam has killed thousands of his own innocent Iraqis to get where is.

l Saddam has killed possibly thousands more to maintain where he is.

l Saddam, if left, will kill many more to remain where he is.

Whether the weapons of mass destruction exist or not we will save more lives by removing Saddam and his collaborators.

The government is still not, however, publicising the above enough.

What the British people have expressed by the London demonstrations is that they don't want a repeat of the mistakes made by the American forces in accidentally bombing and killing the innocent, and any possibility of our own troops been killed for somebody else's problems.

What I would have preferred is an international court set up to try Saddam and his collaborators (and any tyrant) followed by an ultimatum that they must surrender to the court or war will follow.

Refugees who have fled cruel regimes must be witnesses to help in the prosecutions and then return to their own country once the problem has been removed.

L Dobson, Stonecroft, Bradford 2.

SIR - All the people who went on the march for peace had the right to do so because this is a free country and we fought in the Second World War to be free.

None of us, I believe want another war. But people like Karl Dallas, who some people think is a hero for going to Iraq as a "human shield", are actually going beyond the bounds of this right.

Iraq has been declared an enemy of this country and America - for what, I do not know, as Saddam has never threatened us or attacked us.

However, he has been declared an enemy, and all the people who have gone to Iraq as human shields are consorting with the enemy, and if this had been in the Second World War they would have been declared traitors, and dealt with such as. I don't honestly know who is right or wrong.

N Brown, Peterborough Place, Undercliffe.

SIR - So Karl Dallas has journeyed to Baghdad to become a human shield. While I appreciate Karl's sincerity and defend his right to protest I think he is misguided and totally wrong.

I wonder whether those London marchers, bragging about the number of people who attended, ever stopped to think that all those marching almost equalled the number of people Saddam Hussein has murdered during his dictatorship.

Karl and his fellow protesters should be grateful they live in a democracy where they are allowed to protest. Iraqi protesters would rapidly have found themselves residing in the nearest torture chamber.

The peaceniks quote France as an example to follow, but I think it is a tragedy that that country is creating so much damage to the European Union and its relationship with America. It gives Saddam hope that he can continue his murderous regime.

France is just being France - that is totally self-centred and bloody minded - and should be ignored.

Just as Britain and America ignored the doubters and saved the Kosovo Muslims from annihilation, so we should save the Iraqi people from a life of inhumanity and terror. What is wrong with that?

M Wood, Westercroft View, Northowram

SIR - Tony Blair seems determined to take us into war with Iraq. Is he right? I'm not sure, but I would find it more convincing if he had his eldest son join one of our Armed Forces - and then ensured that he would be in the front line of any attack.

Peter A Rushforth, Sutton Drive, Cullingworth.

SIR - In a recent letter Trevor W Berry asks if the fox is a menace? NO. Is it a cuddly friend? YES (I have two pet foxes).

Is it a danger to the public? NO. Is it worth the livelihoods of hundreds of people? This question does not come into the equation because it doesn't put jobs at risk.

I assume that Mr Berry is referring to the barbaric pursuit called fox hunting where people on horseback and packs of dogs chase the unfortunate fox to death.

All these actions can continue except for the tearing apart of the fox while it is still alive (i.e. using the drag method). The tasks of the horses and dogs will still be required, hence no loss of livelihood.

People aren't sad when they try to look after innocent animals. A fox didn't ask to be a fox any more than we asked to be humans. The sadness may lie in the lack of understanding the simple logistics of the matter.

The very essence of deciding what is cruel is what would you feel like if what you are doing was done to you.

Derek Wright, Westbury Street, Bradford 4.

SIR - The majority of the funding for policing comes out of general taxation by way of Government grants. From 1993 to 1997 the police part of council tax, for a Band D household, rose by £10.88 to £53.17, and police numbers rose by 204.

By 2002 police tax had risen by a further £22.75, but police numbers fell by 159. This was not due to maladministration by the Police Authority, but because the Government reduced its grant.

This year the Government has cut a further £9.2 million from the amount it says the Police Authority should be getting. Recent statistics show that West Yorkshire is 1,015 police officers short of the average metropolitan force. In the light of Government cuts the only way a start can be made on recruiting additional officers is by raising the police part of Council tax by 41p a week for a Band D household. This will pay for 300 additional police officers.

Councillor Clive Richardson (member of West Yorkshire Police Authority), Bronte Old Road, Thornton

SIR - I read with interest, the report "It's crunch time for the tax dodgers" (February 19).

Surely this idea could be taken a step further and used to deter and hopefully prevent the actions of the "car park racing" fraternity.

They claim they are not hurting anyone, but in doing their "burn outs" and such like, they seriously damage tarmac surfaces.

These cars are being "raced" illegally as normal car insurance policies do not cover pace-making, speed trials, racing or competition use of any kind.

Signs could be erected at the sites of these "cruises" or whatever name you choose to give these lame brains with bigger egos than IQs, warning them that if this law-breaking continues, cars without the relevant insurance cover and permission from land owners will be crushed.

F S Brook, Southmere Road, Great Horton, Bradford.

SIR - How nice it was to read about the Cinderella Club in the T&A (February 15).

It's more than 65 years ago since our visits to the Central Hall in Manchester Road at Christmas time when we enjoyed a Christmas party. We all had a lovely time and came home with a present, sugar pig, orange, red apple and shiny penny.

The hall was packed with happy children and we also sat and watched a Shirley Temple film, never to be forgotten.

We were always given shoes and clothes and a hot bath, we had free school dinners and they were the best - meat and potatoe pie, fish pie, sultana pud and custard, mixed fruit. How I wish I could sit down to meals like it today. I've lived in Suffolk since 1947 but never forget my childhood in Bradford and the kindness we children were shown. Thanks for the memories.

Hilda Frost, Haugh Lane, Woodbridge, Suffolk.