I wish to comment on the letter, Ahmadinejad, honoured in the breach , by Helen Ang. I find the trend of manipulating the media to justify war a worrying trend. Whether or not Ahmadinejad actually said that he wanted to "wipe Israel off the map" is totally irrelevant. This is fear mongering at its worst.

One should evaluate the facts on the ground and determine the extent of the threat. There should be objectivity and sincerity in the appraisal of any threat of genocide in the world. Sadly, these same people warning about the threat of genocide against Israel from Iran seem to be blind of the genocide happening right under their eyes in Darfur, Sudan. Even the genocide in Rwanda and Bosnia seemed to have missed their attention.

International Atomic Energy Agency director-general El Baradei has said that he has found no evidence that Iran has a nuclear weapons programme. The Russian president has reassured the international community that Iran's energy programme is peaceful. So where is the justification for people like President Nicolas Sarkozy of France and the neo conservatives in the United States to call for sanctions and war against Iran?

This fear mongering has negative implications for Malaysia because Malaysia is also seen as a Muslim country which constitutes a potential threat to Israel. Now that Malaysia has shown keen interest in aerospace technology, it will be a target for countries hostile towards any Muslim country interested in advanced science technology.

Aerospace technology is dual use, meaning that while it can be used to send a satellite into orbit and scientists into outer space, it can also be used to build intercontinental ballistic missiles. In truth, all technology has dual use civilian as well as military. Iran's nuclear reactors can provide energy to generate electricity but can also be used to build nuclear weapons.

In fact, up to one million babies died in Iraq caused by United Nations sanctions because Iraq was prohibited from importing vaccines and antibiotics because the international community was afraid that Saddam Hussein would use the medicine it imported as chemical and biological weapons of mass destruction. So the logic is to prevent a genocide by implementing another form of genocide.

In conclusion, we must put any threat of genocide in perspective. Otherwise, the Western world and many of its Eastern allies such as Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, Singapore and possibly even Malaysia will fall headlong into another foolhardy war like the one in Iraq.