Friedman Aaaarggggg last

To the Editor:

Re "War of Ideas, Part 5" (column, Jan. 22):
Thomas L. Friedman claims that the invasion of Iraq was justified because the "Islamist threat had to be confronted". Saddam Hussein's Iraq was a secular state and hardly a threat to any of its neighbors let alone the United States. Whatever reasons this administration had to attack Iraq had nothing to do with "Islamists", unless one is to take Bush's early utterances about Crusades seriously, nor was there threat. Mr. Freidman perpetuates the simple caricatures and lies used by this administration to demonize all Moslem and Arabs and perpetuate the false association between Islam and terror.