Good over evil …

IN THE EDITORIAL titled "Sorrows of war," the CENTURY stated that "the U.S. choice to go it virtually alone iT1 Iraq has left it virtually alone" (April 5). Nothing could be further from the truth. Some 35 countries joined in coalition with the U.S. to combat the evil Saddam Hussein and his regime promulgated, and other countries helped in less overt ways.

It is not true that "a sober spirit of repentance would also recognize that a failure of diplomacy (some would say a failure to engage in diplomacy at all) contributed to the conflict." The U.S. was engaged in diplomacy with Iraq and its neighbors over issues of disarmament and the destruction of weapons of mass destruction since the first gulf war 12 years ago. The so-called "failure of diplomacy" was not our failure, but Iraq's failure. That country's regime chose to stay armed while terrorizing its people and the world. The present administration, along with Great Britain, worked with the United Nations to compose resolutions and explore every diplomatic avenue while holding the UN responsible for its promises.

To suggest that President Bush is a "trigger-happy cowboy" gloating over the military might of the U.S. is a cruel and cheap caricature. He is a Christian, and while his theology might be more conservative than yours or mine, it is nonetheless heartfelt and genuine. He came to his decision to use force against Iraq after exhausting all other avenues.

Yes, we all need to be "repentant Christians," but part of our repentance should be the recognition of our refusal to acknowledge the existence of evil and our remaining silent and passive in the face of it.

Does the war in Iraq grieve us? Of course, as any war should and must. But hopefully the liberation of the Iraqi people will bring us joy, and the knowledge that good triumphs over evil.

Wendell M. Taylor

Burlington, Conn.

COPYRIGHT 2003 The Christian Century Foundation
COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning