It was years coming. The build-up was immense. Yet, when it came, it was all over rather quickly. The second Gulf War lasted just over a month, and resulted in a walkover victory for the so-called ?Coa?lition of the Willing.? As Christians, we feel we have a duty to fight against the injustices of the world, particularly for those who can?t do it themselves. But this is not always a clear-cut scenario to be in. Some Christians held firm to the belief that the Iraqi government had to be ousted to save the ordinary people from more years of brutality. Others were quite prepared to oppose the war from day one, believing that it was unjustified, wrong, and would result in a large number of unnecessary civilian deaths. Christians are just like the general public: split. Believers can pull Biblical evidence up to support both sides, and it is difficult to imagine what the ?Christian? thing to do actually is. With the war now over, let us cease from debating things that have already happened, and do what we should have done throughout the conflict: pray. Pray for the Iraqi people who are unsure of their future. Pray for the soldiers who stare death in the face daily, even now. Pray for those leaders who will decide the fate of Iraq, internal or external, that they may make the right decisions and help to ease the pain of all in the region. Give some thought also to a very well known verse, Matthew 24:6,

"And you will hear of wars and rumours of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet."

We have rather a bumper edition of Chris?tis for you this end-of-term. All of us here at the magazine hope that you enjoy it and can give it all some deep thought and reflection over the long summer break. As ever, we need articles for the next issue, so don?t forget to keep an eye on the deadline. You are quite welcome to write things over the summer if you desire, but if you have anything ready before the end of term, please let us have it. You can drop articles, letters, poems, reviews, etc. into our pigeon hole at the Student?s Union building until the end of term, and you can always e-mail them to us at: editor@christis.org.uk.