TERRORISM: IT looks as if in the light of Thursday's airport security events, my letter about the Middle East (HAS, Aug 1) was timely.

It can be no coincidence that this plot has been uncovered in this country involving UK nationals targeting aircraft flying to the US.

Perhaps now people might realise that this is the price we are all having to pay for our Government's disastrous foreign policy in blindly following the US.

The perception is, and not just among British Muslims, that the whole US policy in the Middle East is skewed in favour of Israel and against the Palestinians.

Rather than winning the war on terror, all we are doing is storing up anger and resentment for the future. As I said before, with the current Middle East policy in place, our leaders have to be certifiable if they think this is how the war on terror is to be won. The chickens are coming home to roost.

Peter Hill, School Aycliffe.

MIDDLE EAST

I THINK Kev McStravick and I are in agreement, but he doesn't seem to realise it (HAS, Aug 5). He writes: "Islamic extremists believe that the... destruction of Israel is a just cause". I agree, and I said in my last letter (HAS, Aug 1) that there would always be such extremists.

My point is that if Israel could be persuaded to rectify the genuine injustice which Mr McStravick and I agree is at the heart of the Middle East conflict - the desperate plight of the Palestinians - then extremism would be exposed for what it is and eventually confined to a relatively powerless minority.

Instead, the governments of the US, Israel and Britain persist with the futile strategy of trying to crush terrorism by the sheer brute force of military might, killing tens of thousands of innocent people and destroying countless homes and livelihoods.

This heaps injustice upon injustice, and plays into the hands of extremists by driving more and more ordinarily decent people to believe that armed struggle is the only hope.

Pete Winstanley, Durham.

FOOTBALL LAND DEAL

I RESENT any implication that Bishop Auckland FC tried to "pull a fast one" over Durham County Council in connection with the now-collapsed land deal for a new home for the club.

We approached the council with our plans for the ground and how much land we needed. The council told us to be sure the land we wanted was enough as it would be no use asking for more later on. It was doing us a favour and obviously getting rid of land it had no use for.

We thought we might as well purchase it and if it was more than we needed we could put it to good use. One idea was maybe getting someone to build a petrol station which would be useful for fans travelling long distances.

The extra money from this deal, as any other, would enable us to afford better facilities. The council said it has to get the best deal it can for its tax payers, but surely, by selling the extra land, it was getting more for the tax payers than originally planned.

Come on Durham County Council, why not be magnanimous and help a club that has brought more fame to the county than any other?

P Shoulder, Bishop Auckland.

ERASING SOFTWARE

IT was sad to see your Comment column (Echo, Aug 7) reacting in such a shallow and ill-informed manner to the availability of erasing software. Would you claim keeping one's bank statements confidential is tantamount to a confession of money laundering?

All the data that has ever been on your hard drive remains potentially detectable until erased. One day your hard drive will leave your possession - discarded, sold on, or perhaps submitted for repair. Do you really want any inquisitive busybody to be able to access your family correspondence, your household accounts, and letters to your solicitor?

Merely deleting them will not necessarily make them unavailable.

Far from being evidence of guilt, regular erasing of the empty sectors of one's hard drive is sensible routine computer housekeeping. You do not further computer literacy by suggesting otherwise.

David Kelsey, Middlesbrough.

ANIMAL SHOOTINGS

HAVING read the report regarding the shooting of a horse and pony (Echo, Aug 8), it is clear that sick and twisted "human beings" who gratify themselves in orgies of violence and intimidation against the weak and vulnerable need a lesson to remember.

I would suggest that on conviction, offenders could be taken to a public place and flogged until they beg for mercy. Barbaric to some, possibly, but think of the benefits.

The money saved on free board and education in our "universities of crime" could be put to better use.

The public can then see for themselves how cowardly these cretins are. Most importantly, the offenders can experience first-hand the suffering they have so wantonly inflicted on others.

Maybe then they may learn to appreciate and respect the values of our society.

Kev McStravick, Darlington.

I FEEL I must write to express my horror and disgust at the shooting of two beautiful, defenceless animals (Echo, Aug 8) by thugs with air guns. What those animals must have suffered does not bear thinking about.

What I would love to see is those fearless, hard men who love to carry air weapons and shoot at animals and birds given a real firearm and sent to do a spot of shooting in the Middle East where they are shot at in return.

I often think to myself after reading these things why should England tremble when we have upstanding young men like those to protect us.

As an ex-serviceman think I know what I am talking about.

D Harrison, Darlington.

COUNTRY DIARY

BUTTERFLIES, lizards, toadstools and crabs - all brought to life in the past month with just sufficient information to open our eyes to what we can see for free in the countryside. What a delight it is each Thursday to read the beautifully-crafted Country Diary pieces by Phil Gates in The Northern Echo's 7Days supplement.

What about a Northern Echo Country Diary Year publication with a selection of pieces covering all seasons? It would solve my problem of what to buy grandchildren for Christmas.

John Wearmouth, Hamsterley, Bishop Auckland.

SPEED LIMITS

WE must hope that not too much public money will be wasted on a revision of speed limits on rural roads (Echo, Aug 9). The existing limits are widely enough ignored already, and there are no proposals to add enforcement to any new ones, which will be no more than Government window-dressing.

Bob Jarratt, Caldwell, Richmond.

SUBMARINE MEMORIES

AS the instigator of the U-boat mystery, I must add my thanks to Keith Proud on his excellent detective work for his Echo Memories column regarding the submarine I saw all those years ago as a child on the Tees. (Echo, Aug 2, and HAS, Aug 8). She certainly had a proud history and it seems a shame that such a historic boat was scrapped.

Ron Young, Thornaby.