'Sexed-up' or not, the dossier has brought disaster

From Prof Jeffrey D. Sachs.

Sir, I am not sure which is more frightening: a sexed-up dossier or an honest one that so terribly misjudged the world.

The Iraq War is an utter disaster - fought on premises that were not correct, leading to a predictable explosion of violence not only in Iraq but throughout the Muslim world, at a price tag of Dollars 100bn or more that would have been sufficient to fight malaria, Aids, tuberculosis and other ills that claim millions of lives a year, and in the service of horribly naive US ideas about securing Middle East oil.

These are the matters for which President George W. Bush and prime minister Tony Blair should be held to account.

Jeffrey D.Sachs, Director, Earth Institute, Columbia University, New York NY 10027, US

From Mr Jurgen Schaufler.

Sir, If the dossier on Iraq was "sexed up", the government of Tony Blair has engaged in a propaganda exercise to push a reluctant public into accepting a war. If the dossier was not embellished, the government's blind reliance on flimsy intelligence is even more worrying. Will they start another war based on an uncorroborated report of a spook in Moscow?

Jurgen Schaufler, 89143 Blaubeuren, Germany