U.S. attacks in Mideast
unwanted around globe

Copyright © 2006 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.

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Cheney and a powerful right-wing Christian lobby apparently want to provoke a war with Iran and Syria. Seymour Hersh, a Pulitzer-winning journalist, recently wrote that Cheney encouraged Israel's air war on Lebanon's civilians and infrastructure in part as a test of a strategic bombing campaign against Iran. It reminds me of the Nazis' attacks on Guernica, Spain, immortalized by Picasso's famous painting.

Sydney Blumenthal, writing in the Nation, reveals that a new right-wing Christian lobby -- which has easy access to the White House -- encourages Israel's expansion and aggression as it coincides with its own end times, Armageddon philosophy. Blumenthal points out people with this extreme view make up Bush's base and they are the only significant voting block that continues to support Bush's war in Iraq.

Cheney, with Bush's willingness, apparently wants to provoke a new war in the Middle East. It is critical to our country that such a war not happen. The late Pope John Paul called the current Iraq War a failure of humanity. Kofi Annan, Secretary General of the United Nations, said the same about the war in Lebanon.

America stands for defending humanity. A new war would be inhumane and immoral. It would also be a catastrophic failure of foreign policy, as evidenced by the two last wars noted. Americans need to be united against such a potential fiasco.

Edward Ferreira

New Sharon