I was appalled by the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon in the US, allegedly by members of Al-Qa'ida.

However, I support the objectives of the Brighton Peace Coalition and do not condone military attacks by the US and UK on nation states in the Middle East or elsewhere in retaliation.

There is no legal basis for these retaliatory expeditions and they do not assist the genuine international co-operation required from governments worldwide for the presentation of evidence, arrest and trial of those suspected of carrying out the attacks.

The US military campaign is linked to foreign policy objectives existing before September, including the control of regions of Central Asia and the Middle East in the pursuit of profit from their oil and gas resources.

The objective of creating a US-friendly government in Afghanistan is the security of the oil pipeline planned to run through the country from the Caspian Sea to the Indian Ocean for delivering Central Asian oil to Asian markets, ultimately for the benefit of US oil corporations.

There is evidence the US government is paying little but lip-service to defending human rights abroad, to humanitarian relief, the protection of prisoners of war and civil reconstruction. The US government is not interested in a settlement in Afghanistan involving a representative government unless that government is prepared to service US economic interests.

US military expeditions in Central Asia and the Middle East intended to subordinate and then economically exploit these regions will result in the deaths of many more innocent people than were killed in the September 11 attacks. US economic empire-building is fuelling the growth of anti-Western political and religious movements.

-John Sands, Stanford Avenue, Brighton