Saddam is an easy target, not a threat

I AGREE with most of what Sean Moncrieff says (Irish Examiner, February 26) except for one sentence: “This is all happening because the US views Saddam as a threat and wants to take him out.”

I don't believe the US views Saddam as a threat. His nuclear programme is moribund. Two crippling wars, followed by 12 years of sanctions, have left him unable to credibly threaten anyone. (Look out, though, he has missiles that can fly 20 miles further than they're supposed to if you fire them without weighing them down with payloads or guidance systems.)

I believe the US views Saddam as an easy target (one which coincidentally happens to have enormous oil reserves). Their "war against terror" petered out in the hills of Afghanistan last spring, which is when the name "Saddam" started to appear in the news, after a long absence, and the name "Osama" started to fade.