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To the Editor: 

We at the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley join our colleagues at the Weston Jesuit School of Theology and other voices around the world in urging the U.S. government not to attack Iraq. As Christians, we share a strong moral presumption against war. 

As members of international Jesuit centers for the study of Roman Catholic theology, it is our judgment that unleashing massive violence in a military invasion of Iraq is neither necessary or moral. 

We find the situation in Iraq and throughout the world deeply troubling. We share, with others, overwhelming concern about the stockpiling of biological and chemical weapons in Iraq and elsewhere. 

However, as persons of conscience, we are persuaded that the present circumstances do not warrant the use of force against Iraq. Our “Just War” tradition insists that peaceful and diplomatic alternatives must first be exhausted. It has not been demonstrated to the satisfaction of allies of the U.S. or its public that we have reached the point where war is our last resort. 

For 12 years innocent Iraqi civilians, especially children, the elderly and the infirm have suffered the effects of desperate deprivation brought about by military strikes and economic sanctions against their nation. 

As we read the signs of our times, we cannot remain silent in the face of a haunting moral question: What would become of a divided and chaotic Iraq after an attack? Given the course of U.S. interventions in Haiti, Somalia, Afghanistan and elsewhere, we cannot fail to observe that in the recent past the U.S. has demonstrated little of the patience that is required for the task of reestablishing order after imposing regime changes. Indeed the very phrase “nation-building” has acquired stigma in foreign policy discourse. 

In light of these observations and questions, we urge creative efforts in cooperation with United Nations, allies of the U.S. and the international community to find ways to contain and curtail Saddam Hussein’s threats without resorting to a military attack on Iraq. 

We, as followers of Jesus Christ, appeal to you: Pursue the ways of peace through diplomacy, not war. 

Graduate Theological Union 

Berkeley