THERE is a danger in drawing comparisons between the atrocities that have happened in Paris and a different kind of war in Europe against the torment inflicted by Adolf Hitler during the Second World War.

The essence of war lies in the extreme power in the hands of a dictator or regime.

Terrorism presents a very different scenario, but as in any war there are the victims, innocent people enjoying their freedom who have their life snatched away.

But unlike conventional military conflicts, we don’t have a leader or commanders that we can identify.

Of course, the intelligence and security services have a number of individuals within their sights, but there is a fine line between suspicion and the execution of terrorism.

One thing is clear, for the innocent people caught up in Friday’s events all they wanted was an enjoyable night in Paris.

They were people from France and the UK, as well as countries far and wide.

A narrow perspective of the problem is that those responsible for the attack in Paris and previous acts of terrorism are Muslim, but that does not tell us a great deal.

I know a number of Muslims who are not terrorists. They are caring and peace loving.

I am aware of individuals in communities who would love to seize upon Muslims in a bid to create conflict we don’t need.

Terrorism is an act of war, but is different to wars in the past and we need to be measured in our response.

There will be the ill-informed and those who will speculate and have already formed a fixed view of what happens next. To be merciless and see revenge is an understandable reaction. But attack leads to counter attack and then we are embroiled in a cycle of violence. Individuals will be targeted for the wrong reasons.

Those who believe that bombing Isis targets in Syria will eliminate their function and organisation are seriously misguided. Their activity might be curtailed but to destroy a concept will require some careful thought, reliable intelligence and action based on fact.

Bernie Walsh, Coxhoe

I THINK that the terrorist attack in Paris will prove to be a turning point in how we view and act against Isis.

If you have a swarm of wasps in your attic or a nest of rats in your garden you don’t just try and get rid of them individually – you get rid of the nest.

We should take the same approach with Isis.

They have chosen to “steal” land in Iraq and Syria and occupy it as their own.

From there they orchestrate terrorist attacks around the world in the name of radical Islam.

These terrorist communities need to be eradicated and you can only do that with ground troops.

But it needs to be a co-ordinated approach with involvement of all Nato countries supported by Middle Eastern countries and the US.

Without a home these small groups would find it much more difficult to operate.

But we should also see and hear much more from those Muslims who don’t support terrorism.

These fanatics seek world domination by the Muslim faith and that can’t be allowed to happen.

The Muslim faith can’t allow that to happen.

The Western world has the power to ensure that peaceful people are protected from terrorism and we must use that power to ensure our safety.

No doubt this will fall on deaf ears as far as Jeremy Corbyn is concerned, but I suspect that Labour MPs will now support a new initiative from David Cameron should he seek additional support in Westminster.

Bill Fisher, Spennymoor

CHRISTIANS in the US have been murdered in a church because of their colour and tortured in Iraq for refusing to convert to Islam.

Torture and crucifixion is almost routine in Syria. We are seeing increasing levels of anti-Semitism, Islamophobia and hate crimes against the physically or mentally disabled.

Around the world religious belief is used to justify denying rights to homosexuals and lesbians. Christians and Muslims in the sub-Sahara believe mental illness and disability is caused by demonic possession.

Now more than 130 people have been murdered in Paris, the list of atrocities grows longer.

All because some think their beliefs give them to right to discriminate against others.

Discrimination which some equate as no different to buying, say, a tin of beans.

The universe is more than 13 billion years old and our planet is more than 4bn years old. Genetics and archaeology shows that the tribe to whom Hallowe’en belongs came to Ireland 4,000 years before Biblical creation. They like the majority of the human race have no genetic or other connection to the people of the Bible, Torah and Quran beyond the out of Africa migration.

Our world in turmoil because people can’t decide which Middle Eastern sect tells the best fairy tales.

C MacArt, Spennymoor