An letter submitted last week (“War stoops…” Zachary Shaner) accused the United States of reaching new lows by following “inconsistent disarming policies” and using foreign policy to exploit other nations wishing to obtain superpower status. There were several points in this article I disagree with, namely all of them.

First citing America’s own possession of nuclear weapons, it called the U.S. immoral and hypocritical for not permitting countries such as North Korea and Iraq to possess weapons of mass destruction, which should be allowed under the author’s “price of consistency.”

Please note that our possession of nuclear weapons since 1946 has to this point been an arsenal of deterrence. Saddam Hussein has shown his willingness to use chemical and biological weapons in tests on prisoners, against his own rebelling people and in instructions to generals.

I do not think he would hesitate to use nuclear weapons if pressured. We will go to war not to suppress Iraq from being “equal” to us, but to prevent a madman from holding the world at his mercy.

Second, the letter urged us as Christians to oppose this “patriotic trap,” saying there is virtue in pacifism. A Christians is not any less of a Christian for supporting this war, and I would argue in another place and time that they are stronger in faith.

C.S. Lewis wrote that if we must go to war (and I believe we must) we should not do it with a long face, but rather with courage and wholeheartedness.

Finally, the letter opposed this war because it is one we will initiate, and is not a response to attacks by Al Qaeda.

I close asking what is the price of waiting to respond to Iraq’s or North Korea’s use of these weapons? If we had known before Sept. 11 what was going to happen, would a pre-Sept. 11 strike against Al Qaeda have been immoral?

I think not. We go to this war to prevent such tragedies from occurring again.

Josh Pavlik
sophomore management major from San Antonio