17th December 1998
President William Clinton 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. Washington, D.C. 20500 U.S.A. Dear Mr. President,	Prime Minister Tony Blair 10 Downing Street London United Kingdom Dear Mr. Blair,
Peace and all things good! I would like to express in the strongest possible terms my condemnation of the barbaric response of your government with the bombing raids against the Iraqi people in the last twenty four hours. The Franciscans, Friars Minor in February of this year previously invited you to " redouble your diplomatic efforts, to be patient, more resourceful and to continue to use dialogue as a preferential means in hopefully achieving a mutually acceptable and dignified solution to this ongoing conflict". We believe that your recourse to physical violence is a betrayal of all civilised and humane means of encountering a just solution to political conflict and contrary to Gospel principles. In the name of all innocent people already victimised by a never ending embargo and those indiscriminately killed by missiles and bombs, we call you to cease hostilities; stop your war machine and return to the difficult path of negotiation. As a sign of your desire to end the threat of weapons of mass destruction, turn your own "swords into ploughshares and your spears into pruning hooks". We urge you to deal with the disagreement with President Sadam Hussein through the international means at your disposal, namely, the United Nations. Unilateral responses only further weaken existing international institutions by undermining their credibility and future effectiveness. May the God of life and love move you to a compassionate response as we wait to celebrate the King of Peace "Emmanuel". Sincerely, Francisco Conaire, OFM Vice-Director, JPIC Office

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