A Letter to President Bush

Dear Mr. President,
I write in protest against your escalation of American troop commitment in Iraq. More than that, I write to you because you have not listened and I am afraid at the direction you are taking our nation. You have not listened to the results of the November election that called for a reversal, not an escalation, in Iraq. You have not listened to the Baker-Hamilton (Iraq Study Group) that advocated a phased withdrawal of troops and international negotiations. You have not listened to Prime Minister al-Maliki of Iraq who asked you for the opposite strategy than the one you are now pursuing in Baghdad. You have replaced the military commanders who pursued your previous strategy with new commanders who will pursue a more aggressive military campaign. You have dismissed the opinions of those who advocate containment of Iran’s ambitions rather than military confrontation.

I fear you are taking our nation into a far wider, more dangerous war with Iran.

I fear you are making us into a nation that cares far more for oil than democracy, far more for the projection of American power than for the welfare of allies, far more for your own possible legacy as a loser than for the lives of American soldiers.

Perhaps most of all, I fear that in the middle of the night, in the privacy of your prayer, you imagine that America is a Christian nation mustering its strength for a crusade against Islamic fundamentalism.

You and I have very different views of the Lordship of Jesus Christ over the world. I say Jesus Christ went to the cross to show the futility of empires. I say Jesus Christ rose from the dead to show the power of non-violent confrontation with evil. I say Jesus Christ redeems the world with a tough love that demands listening to the poor among the nations. I say Jesus Christ will come again to judge the living and the dead according to our actions of justice, mercy and repentance at what we have done wrong.

I say Jesus Christ is not Lord of a crusade against Islam.

Mr. President, I call upon you to listen. I invite you to repent this war in Iraq. I ask you to reverse your decision to escalate.

As a disciple of Jesus Christ, I believe it is never too late. As a citizen of the United States, I fear it may be.
Please, Mr. President, take this decision to escalate to prayer – and then listen.

In God’s love,

Rev. Peter Heinrichs
South Congregational Church
United Church of Christ
Springfield