Madam, - I welcomed the letter from Philip Donnelly (April 16th)listing the names of those who so much swayed the public's thinking on Iraq.
He left out Robert Fisk, who was brought on to every little dogfight on RTÉ to tell us that another Vietnam was starting, that it would result in a quagmire that would go on ad infinitum, etc. etc.
Of course there has been no statement from Mr Fisk admitting he was wrong. He made the same predictions about Afghanistan and there too was proved wrong. But I doubt these facts will dissuade RTÉ from having him on again to give us his profound opinions.
Speaking about RTÉ, it was funny how, for the Dublin anti-war protest on March 29th, the Garda estimate of the crowd was 8,000 but RTÉ reported it as 20,000, which exactly matched the numbers that the organisers said would turn up. TV3 reported the Garda estimate. Perhaps RTÉ has now allocated staff to counting crowd numbers.
RTÉ has carried on its bias even since the coalition forces have been victorious. To quote The Irish Times of April 15th: "Protesters called off a demonstration outside RTÉ last night after the group was offered representation on the panel of Questions and Answers.
"The Iraq Human rights group had complained that the panel was biased as it did not contain anyone who was in favour of the war in Iraq. Mr Faiah Hassam, group spokesman, said he had earlier sought a place on the panel but was refused it. Shortly before the programme got under way, it was agreed that Mr Hassam could be a panellist on the show.
"A Questions and Answers spokeswoman said the programme tried to provide a balance of opinions and as broad a range of views as possible."
They go a funny way about, if you ask me. - Yours, etc.,
LORETTA O'CONNOR, Halldene Grove, Bishopstown, Cork.
Madam, - Like Philip Donnelly, I too returned to Dublin for a brief visit from St Albans, Hertfordshire and I too thought I was on a different planet.
I knew the conflict in Iraq wasn't entirely popular but I had no idea that my fellow citizens had come to the same obvious conclusions as myself, and had not fallen under the spell of America's incessant propaganda.
They were clever enough to see what America has become. They saw through the oil-grabbing American politicians and their brainwashed soldiers.
They hated the platitudes of the US generals ("Look, people get killed in war. . .").
They decried the waste of life in Saddam's conscript army and felt the pain of the thousands of innocent people maimed and murdered by American weapons.
They knew more about the use of depleted uranium weapons and cluster bombs than I had imagined and deciphered the imperial designs of our former "friends" in America.
Perhaps the next time Mr Donnelly visits Ireland he might just consider turning his ever-so-powerful magnifying glass on himself before he pronounces his ill-conceived judgments on a people whose quick-witted and able perception far outstrips his own. - Yours, etc.,
ALAN DONEGAN, St Albans, Hertfordshire, England.
Madam, - If Ireland were to experience "regime change", what scenes would be beamed across the globe? Would jubilant, liberated hordes tear down the Spire? Would looters plunder the spoils of Farmleigh? Would embedded reporters reveal the opulent interior of the Government jet or the extravagance of the Government box at the Bertie Bowl?
One needn't worry. We'll not see this regime change for quite a while! - Yours, etc.,
STEPHEN E. CARSON, Killeen Road, Ranelagh, Dublin 6.