Bush is, sadly, an amateur at diplomacy who can't seem to open his mouth
without disrespecting the rest of the world. In this way he is constantly
turning the world against us. He's well-meaning in a certain kind of
adolescent or school boyish way, and I suppose in this sense he's capable of
being redeemed or seasoned or his mind changed about the need for
collaboration and outreach to the global community. But realistically, this
just isn't going to happen. He's is in power and he's going to war. That's the
reality of it, to me.

Therefore our best hope, because it is the most realistic, is not to try to
dissuade Bush from this aggression but rather to modify and direct it as
much as possible towards humane and democratic ends. Because I do
believe, fundamentally, Saddam has to go.

We haven't all spoken with each other since we sent our e-mails around.
Given the long personal history that we share, I'm confident that our
friendships will indeed hold. And yet the stab of concern the petition raised
for our long friendships was unsettling. For three of us, the future of
beautiful young children in our care is very much a motivating concern, and
to a large degree is shaping our thoughts and decisions.

We are feeling heavily and treading lightly, because we sense how war's immense destructive power menaces even the fabric of friendships and love.