To the editor:

Although the Iraq fighting is nearly over, the important question remains: Were the United States and Britain morally justified in attacking Iraq? We are the aggressors because international law forbids attacking other countries.

A basic moral principle is that evil means may not be used to achieve good ends. Evil means destroy good ends. How many thousands of Iraqis have been killed, injured, or made homeless and hungry? How about the priceless, irreplaceable artifacts plundered from Iraq’s national museum?

Having destroyed Saddam Hussein’s Iraq regime, are we planning to attack Iran and North Korea to eliminate all of Bush’s evil three? Then how about attacking communist China’s dictatorship? No! Instead, we must seek and practice peace!

The United States is now threatening Syria — evoking protests from Islamic states. Anti-American, anti-British protests are common in the Islamic world. Are we alienating the entire Islamic world from Morocco to Indonesia? Also, our attack upon Iraq is likely to multiply the fanatically Islamic al-Qaida.

Bush has gone far toward destroying the United Nations. After failing to get Security Council approval for the invasion of Iraq, Bush invaded anyway! The U.N. arms inspectors fled from Iraq. Bush’s arrogance has alienated important European nations — France, Germany and Russia. The United States should pay for Iraq’s reconstruction. Bush has shown no inclination to ask the U.N. to administer Iraq’s reconstruction.

John A. Bond,

Lawrence