During last night's panel discussion of the gulf war, we had the opportunity to see the war from different "perspectives." However, one of the speakers, in my view, did not offer the audience a perspective of an expert on the Middle East, but only propaganda and war rhetoric.

First, in his brief presentation, Professor Goldschmidt bombarded our ears with a speech that sounded like the bombs recently dropped over Baghdad by one of the war planes.

Second, his one-word answers to questions from the audience highlighted the nervousness with which he wanted to unleash his load of explosives, and pinpointed the sole purpose of his mission in coming to the discussion: to express his support for the war.

Third, Professor Goldschmidt saw a defect in the Arab League in its exclusion of countries such as Israel, Turkey and Iran from membership. I wonder if Goldschmidt, who is a professor of Middle Eastern history, is really unaware of the fact that this is an Arab League, not a Middle Eastern League.

Also, granting that the Arab countries were to accept Israel as a member in this league, would Israel itself, whose practices in Palestine for the last 42 years have been incompatible with all the principles of the league and the United Nations, accept such a membership when it has constantly rejected all peace initiatives with its Arab neighbors? Was Goldschmidt really unaware of all these questions? No. He did come with a set purpose.

Goldschmidt accused the league of having failed to find an exclusively Arab solution to the Iraqi aggression against Kuwait, but he forgot or ignored President Bush's call to King Fahd, on the eve of the Arab League Summit meeting, and the former's instant mobilization of U.S. troops and the latter's connivance.

If Goldschmidt still maintains that the Arabs have not and will not be able to find a solution to their problems, I agree with him, but only because of foreign intervention.

What is shocking about the views of the supporters of the war is not that they support it, but their attempt to convince us that now we have to accept it with its consequences as a fait accompli. Most shocking of all is to see how cheap human life stands in their regard, especially when that life is not Western.

As for us "war-haters," we see neither oil principles nor the fabulous "new world order." How can you expect a wolf to give birth to a lamb?