Susan B. Thistlethwaite’s Oct. 15 commentary, “`Just war’ or is it just a war?” had good points, but apparently Thistlethwaite conveniently or unknowingly forgot that the impending first strike on Iraq will not have been the first time that the U.S. has attacked “someone who has not attacked us or our allies first.”
Does Thistlethwaite remember the numerous times the U.S. and its Colonial predecessors started or provoked a war with the original inhabitants of America, namely, the Native Americans? The 300-year war against them is a largely forgotten episode of the military history of the U.S.
Moreover, part of the motive for waging war on Native Americans was to spread Christianity on these “savages.” So the concept of a barbarian isn’t limited to pagans.
