Dear Editor,

The letter from Frank Miller, on June 19, 2002, "Prime Minister Howard is leading us into the unknown", sounds like a warning all Australians would do well to heed.

One can only conjecture as to why Mr Howard would wish to lock Australia in to such an ill-conceived policy, which assumes what Mr Bush considers good for America is also good for us.

There is much evidence coming from America that a strong groundswell of opinion from thinking Americans

disagrees with the President in any case.

There is a strong correlation between the current situation and that which took us into the Vietnam War, with all its disastrous consequences.

We could be a better friend to America by encouraging it to examine its own policies more critically.

Decisions such as Howard has made should not be within the power of the Prime Minister or the Executive, except perhaps in an emergency.

My understanding is that the defence of Australia is a matter for Parliament as a whole to decide.

This is certainly how these recent decisions should be taken.

Peace can only be achieved through an understanding of the underlying conflicts and addressing those factors constructively.

Any imposition of a 'solution' by force may provide an apparent peace but will inevitably lead to greater unrest and violence down the track.

H C Dorman,

Bundanoon