YOUR front page is a reminder of the deadly reality of the situation in Iraq (Scots soldier dies as US hands over power to Iraq, June 29), but it is naive in the extreme to suggest that what took place was a ''handover of power'' or that the Scottish soldier killed will be the ''final victim'' of the US-led occupation.

Look at the facts. Allawi is a former CIA agent, selected and imposed by the US against the wishes of even the American-appointed Iraqi Governing Council. Paul Bremer may have left, but John Negroponte, a former architect of Colombian death squads, remains in charge of the US forces. There are 160,000 foreign troops occupying Iraq, with the likelihood that this number is set to increase in the near future, rather than diminish.

The ''handover'' ceremony was clearly brought forward from the originally scheduled date (June 30) because of security fears. Presumably it was hoped to wrong-foot the Iraqi resistance by sneaking it through a couple of days earlier, and hence removing the opportunity of a symbolic demonstration of opposition. Yet even this manoeuvre exposes the weakness and fragility of the new regime, which clearly has no credibility with the Iraqi people.

It is likely that the media will now start referring to the ''Iraqi government''. This is to be expected, as in general newspapers report the descriptions and categories that are defined by our own military spin-doctors. This will not change the fact that many people both here, in the US and obviously in the Middle East will see through the charade. The new leaders are no more than puppets, and the new government is a sham. It is only when the occupying troops are withdrawn and free democratic elections held that a truly independent Iraqi government can be established.

Joe Hartney,

7 Wester Broom Gardens, Edinburgh.

Donald Rumsfeld does know that the US and its allies are losing the war on terror but as one of the two public faces of the US he cannot and must not admit it. There is widespread unrest and terrorism in Afghanistan, while the situation in Iraq is going from bad to worse. The much-vaunted handover to the Iraqi provisional government is just a front with the US administration still holding all the keys.

This current call for Nato assistance, allied to the UN appeal, is due to some very serious shortcomings in the US armoury. The US forces in Iraq are very unhappy, with more than half reporting low morale; this is having a serious effect on recruitment at home. Senior US public figures now condemn the Iraq war as a major strategic error which has resulted in an unnecessary preventive war which has opened the door for Islamic terrorism.

On the home front, the government is failing to admit the true human and financial costs of the war. More than 700 US and coalition nationals have died, while an estimated 8000 US soldiers have been injured. There is scarcely a mention of the estimated 10,000 Iraqi civilians who have been killed. Economically, the estimated cost for the war is between $50-$100bn for 2004-07, but this is known to be a gross underestimation.

The US is in dire straits militarily, economically, morally and has little to offer unless it opens up to the world and its problems. Nato is correct only to offer limited assistance, for it is only when the US is faced with the reality of meltdown that it will mend its ways. Mr Blair should reflect on the ignoble part he has played in this saga. Democracy is now a much-abused concept.

Ian F M Saint-Yves,

Dunvegan, School Brae,

Whiting Bay, Isle of Arran.

NOW that the farce that is the hand-over of power back to the Iraqis, in that it is no such thing, has been completed, watch out for Iraq and the plight of the wretched Iraqi people slowly to disappear from the media. It's Pontius Pilate time, hand-washing on a global scale will take place, all of those people who were in favour of the attacks on Iraq can now go back to the really big issues like Beckham's marriage.

Time has shown us Iraq had no WMD, no connection to al Qaeda and absolutely nothing to do with the events of 9/11. In other words, there was no justification for the unprovoked attack on a sovereign nation.

Now that reports are stating that more Iraqis have perished due to the coalition's actions than ever died under Saddam, all of those people who gave their tacit approval, by not doing anything, should hang their heads in shame. As for those who wrote to this page actively promoting the war, I wonder how they get to sleep at nights.

Bill Brown,

34 Renshaw Drive, Glasgow.