Following the Nice attack (Reports, 16 July), Theresa May called for a tough response if it was confirmed to be carried out by terrorists, code for if it was confirmed to be carried out by Muslims. Meanwhile François Hollande vowed to avenge the innocent lives lost in Nice by ensuring further innocent lives are lost in Syria and Iraq. It is just shocking that even after 15 years of waging a war on terror we continue on this warpath, despite the world becoming increasingly dangerous. If we don’t break this cycle of violence then just as we drop more bombs in the Middle East, further retaliatory attacks will take place at home. Sadly, this will become our norm in the same way that war has tragically become the norm for people living in countries which were needlessly invaded and destabilised.
Mirza Ali
Chadwell Heath, Essex
• The news media’s and politicians’ aggrandisement of Mohamed Bouhlel’s rampage in Nice as a “terrorist” attack is to grant this outrage more logic and ideological basis than it deserves. Angry, mentally disturbed individuals do, from time to time, seek to cause havoc as a form of thrashing out against some hurt they mistakenly perceive. As a delivery man he knew the weapon his vehicle could become. Just as Andreas Lubitz did when he crashed his plane into the French Alps. Bouhlel is no more a terrorist than Lubitz. Awarding him that title unnecessarily supports the terrorist cause.
Professor David Canter
University of Huddersfield
• Whether or not the Nice killer had links to a wider terrorist network, what is beyond doubt is that the vast majority of perpetrators of terrorist attacks, from Nice to Orlando, have a history of domestic violence. It is likely that these men are drawn to the perverted form of Islam which extols sexual slavery and hatred of women. Perhaps this should be a starting point for the intelligence services.
Jane Lawson
London
• With the Bastille Day attack in Nice, and the racism that has reared its horribly ugly head in far too many western countries over the last year, it seems that this is the summer of hate. It is a matter of some urgency to broach a discussion, among our neighbours, friends and political representatives, about the most effective means to combat racism. Surely we do not want our governments to continue to ignore the racism that pervades public discourse. And surely we can be part of the solution.
Deborah Cook
Toronto, Canada
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