From J. Xuereb

In response to Moustafa Megawar’s letter (TMIS, 24 July), I am surprised he did not suggest, given his line of thought, the obvious solution to Iraq’s problem.

This being the case, I will do it for him, knowing full well that I can say it without necessarily meaning it.

So, Saddam Hussein is being detained awaiting trial for atrocities committed over many years against people living within the frontiers of the country (his apologists were quick to add that no, it was not against his own people as was claimed in the West, as these – Iraqi Kurds, Marsh Arabs and the rest – belonged to tribes other than those he deemed his own.)

The impending trial can be scrapped, Saddam Hussein can be freed and be allowed to install himself, with the help of his many fans if need be, and mandated to continue where he left off. He will not be at a loss how to do this.

The experience he gained over many years will see to that. Mr Megawar sets great store on experience but unfortunately, he seems incapable of separating the tyranny that went with it.

I have spoken to Iraqis about these people who, for hundreds if not thousands of years, have subsisted on these marshlands living on and in cane structures of infinite ingenuity and beauty.

They are seen as “dirty” and therefore dispensable and presumably an embarrassment to the rest of the country, their only “crime” being not caring overmuch for tapped running water because they are surrounded by it.

J. Xuereb

London, UK