Hiroshima Alliance for Nuclear Weapons
Abolition letter to George W. Bush
September 13, 2001

The Honorable George W. Bush
President of the United States

Dear President Bush,

We are writing on behalf of the Hiroshima Alliance for Nuclear Weapons Abolition to express our condolences for those who died in the tragic terrorist attack on the World Trade Towers and the Pentagon on September 11. We share your grief and sorrow that so many innocent lives were lost to this violent outburst of hatred. We are concerned, however, about the repeated comparisons of this incident to Pearl Harbor. That attack led very quickly to the hysterical incarceration of Japanese Americans. Ultimately, it led to atomic bombings that devastated not two buildings but two entire cities. We beg you to ensure that no similar hysteria sweeps your nation again.

We are further concerned about the emphasis in your subsequent speech to the nation on America$B!G(Bs power and determination to exact revenge. Thus, we are writing to urge you to refrain from reacting in anger and violence. As the most powerful nation on Earth, the United States must not stoop to the level of these terrorists. They are desperate, filled with rage. As you said, the US is strong, strong enough to rise above even this. This tragic man-made disaster must not be the start of a wildly escalating vicious cycle of violence that will bring the whole world down to the level of Israel$B!G(Bs West Bank.

We hope this incident will convince you that any effort to protect the US with a missile defence program or space-based weapons will be futile. We must all realize that our enemy is not any group of terrorists. Rather, it is the hatred and rage that move terrorists and burn in all our hearts today. The US should immediately re-evaluate its reliance on power and make serious efforts to explore and alleviate misery and hatred throughout the world. Rather than remaining an object of envy and hate, the US must earn the love and respect of an increasingly desperate and interdependent world. Friendship and cooperation are the only means of achieving true and lasting security.

Please be aware that the peace-loving people of Hiroshima stand ready to help you and the United States in any way we can to fight hatred and violence.

Sincerely,
Mitsuo Okamoto
Goro Kawai
Haruko Moritaki

On behalf of the Hiroshima Alliance for Nuclear Weapons Abolition