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Contain this fire

Sir, — After establishing physical, military and political control over the vast oil and gas reserves of Central Asia and its outlet through Afghanistan and Pakistan, the U.S. is on the verge of annexing Iraq which has 11 per cent of the world's oil reserves.

The predator's next prey are likely to be Iran and Syria and in the not too distant future Libya and Saudi Arabia on some pretext or other. In the 200 years since independence, U.S. troops have gone to battle in 69 domestic campaigns almost exterminating the Indians.

The list of its innumerable armed and covert interventions in Latin America, killing millions, changing regimes at will, propping up dictators, killing and capturing even democratically-elected heads of State (Arbenz in Guatemala, Allende in Chile, Coard in Greneda, Torrijos and Noriega in Panama) is long.

The wild Bush fire, if not contained right away, will ravage the entire earth sparing none.

A.J. Mukherjee,
Rourkela

* * *

Sir, — The Iraqi war is a turning point in human history. Once again the dark clouds of colonialism and Western dominance loom large in the horizon.

The sole super power, once a colony, is putting on imperial garbs, and egged on by the erstwhile colonial power, Britain, is now casting its covetous glances at the natural resources of Asia and Africa, already depleted by years of colonial rule.

India has to watch out. It cannot remain a house divided, torn by caste, communal and linguistic differences. We should move forward as a vibrant and strong democracy of a billion people guided by the wisdom of an ancient civilisation. The Iraqi war is a wake-up call.

Jacob George,
Changanacherry, Kerala

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