Are we ready for what is to come if our leaders do not exercise caution and wisdom in the days ahead?  Each of us needs to search deep within our hearts and minds and ask ourselves why we are standing by as they appear to be making decisions which are contrary to the basic principles we profess to hold dear.

Governments which we have traditionally counted on to show restraint and common sense are now  bent on actions which could well destroy mankind  before the repercussions have finished taking their toll. Emotions are being manipulated as September 11th is being used as a rallying call and justification for actions which any peace loving nation should abhor and consider only as a last resort.

 Understandably, this argument does influence a lot of decent God - fearing and freedom loving people who see their way of life threatened by madmen but the present course of action will  have consequences which are so horrific  that they are unthinkable ! Already the world wide coalition of nations who came together after September 11th committed to  the fight against this new peril  is being  seriously weakened by this reckless disregard  for any sense of responsibility to the preservation of  world peace.

The so called 'Christians'  who would use bombs to  protect us,  who have restricted our freedoms, and who heap scorn  and condemnation on those who dare to speak up,  do not represent me or mine. Nor do I believe they represent you. And yes, I am also a Christian but one who believes in what Christianity is meant to be. They represent their own interests  and their self righteous lust for power will see  our world destroyed if their agenda  is allowed to run its course.

An American friend of mine said to me recently, after hearing how so many British people are opposed to  this war, that "Maybe a couple of 727's with Sadaam's henchmen plowing into the Queen's palace would wake those Brits up".  Obviously it has been forgotten how many 'Brits' died in the years 1939 -1945 and how many years of bombings they endured in that horrendous time. The Battle of Britain was not a figment of someone's imagination although Americans perhaps do not remember it as vividly as do those who fought along side the British in those early years of the war before the United States decided to enter the fray after themselves being attacked on December 7th 1941. That war in Europe didn't begin in 1941 ... it started in 1939 and the allied forces fought without the assistance of their American friends and 'allies' for two long years ! No one can question the courage of the British. Or the sacrifices they have made in freedom's name.

 Nor can anyone question the contribution made by the American forces to the war effort from December 1941 onward. The outcome of that war could very well  have been disastrous without our American allies.

 Of grave concern is the apparent arrogance which  manifests itself in vitriol against  those countries, historically considered as Allies or friendly nations, who find the present course of action dangerous and  a threat to world peace and who are refusing to be led down this dangerous path, who are now being discounted as of no consequence and unworthy of respect. Ridicule and contempt are NOT  part of the diplomatic dialogue designed to  foster good relations with other countries who share this planet.

 This new war will not end with Iraq. This will only be the beginning of what is about to be unleashed upon mankind. Why can they not see this and what chaos they are inviting ?  Surely we can find another way to resolve  this  which does not have the  very real possibility of destroying mankind  before the violence  is done. War is not the answer. Have we still not learned this ? Has history taught us nothing ?

 To even consider acting  without the support of the majority of the world's leaders and the United Nations in a pre-emptive strike against another nation despite the objections of most citizens of our countries makes a mockery of democracy and the rights of the people. That isn't democracy. That's a dictatorship. Freedom ? Has the 'protection of freedom' become something to be used as an excuse for actions which are to be taken with no consideration being given to the voices of the people  in whose name they claim to be acting?

 To paraphrase the words of Senator Byrd ... to propose war is to invite  the most horrible of human experiences. The idea that the United States or any other nation can legitimately attack a nation that is not imminently threatening but may be a threat in the future  is, to a people used to freedom and democracy, a totally alien idea of self defense. It is in contravention of international law and the UN Charter. And it is being considered at a time  when we face world-wide terrorism, signalling to other countries around the globe  that they should perhaps wonder if they will soon be next on the hit list.

The spokesmen for those planning this horrendous move recently refused to rule out the use of nuclear weapons  when discussing a possible attack  against Iraq. What could be more frightening  or, God forbid, precedent setting ?  What is to stop some other nation  from doing likewise once the restraint is lifted by one ?  Have the terrorists won after all ? Are we prepared to compromise every principle we hold dear to be 'safe'?  My God,  if we allow this to happen we blaspheme everything  for which our democracies have stood and for which so many have given their lives in past conflicts around the world.

 Because one has the power and the resources it does not mean one should abuse that power by using it rashly or arbitrarily without heeding the counsel of those who also are a part of the world community.  The fact that for the first time in history the oceans no longer protect us from conflict  or the acts of terrorism the rest of the world has lived with for so many  years does not give us the right to join the ranks of the barbarians who would destroy us. We are better than that ! Our countries are better than that ! Or at least, I devoutly hope we are. If I am wrong, we are no better than the terrorists who have provided the excuse for the contemplated actions.  In fact, we will pose a greater threat to mankind than the radical, obsessed madmen who consider human life to be of no value and who would terrorize us all.

 Surely the fact that to the rest of the world we in North America are now considered the greatest threat to world peace in the world today should give pause for thought and  restraint. 

 Dwight David Eisenhower, President of the United States, General of the Army,  wrote in 1953: " Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired, signifies, in the final sense, theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed. The world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children. This is not a way of life at all in any true sense. Under the clouds of war, it is humanity hanging on a cross of iron." 

 Another of his countrymen Benjamin Franklin, at age 77, from a letter to Sir Joseph Banks,  written July 27, 1783:  " I hope that Mankind will at length, as they call themselves reasonable creatures, have reason and sense enough to settle their differences without cutting throats, for in my opinion there never was a good war, or a  bad peace."

 This time it is quite possibly the future of this planet which is at stake. In the name of God and  for the sake of the children now here as well as the generations not yet born please think about what is being contemplated and speak up as one in an effort to have our leaders see reason before it is too late.

An international system was built after the Second World War which created a series of laws, treaties, organizations, and shared values that set limits on our foes and protected our friends, and this system has survived through the years acknowledged as our best chance for world peace. For freedom's sake and for humanity itself we MUST convince those who are prepared to discard these safeguards that they must stop and think  about the gravity of their planned course of action. If they carry out their stated objectives the ramifications may very well be beyond comprehension.

I believe it was Benjamin Franklin who once said ... "Those who give up liberty for the sake of security deserve neither liberty nor security."  In my humble opinion we would all  be well advised to heed his warning.