Please, Mr Bush. Don't go to war. That said, I have no better alternative to offer and should probably keep my mouth shut. If you keep delaying war, Iraq will never get the message, they will have more time to build up power and that would result in a greater threat to worldwide security. Nevertheless, please do not go to war. I'm thinking of the mothers, wives, sisters, cousins, friends whose fathers, husbands, brothers, cousins and friends may not return to them.

I know you have a responsibility to your people and to the world to keep them safe but sending them off to war is hardly keeping them safe. If you think Saddam Hussein is evil, is it worth risking your people's lives to extinguish his power and control? Cost-benefit analysis. Surely you must have attended economics classes, Mr Bush. Are you really trying to say that the benefits far outweigh the costs of war?

I sympathise with you. You have the weight of the world on your shoulders. You ran for office, never really expecting to immediately come face to face with terrorism at its worst in recent years. You probably had great plans for the nation, for the world. But all these were abruptly halted on September 11. And the world watched to see what this newly-elected American President was made of. If I ever met you, I would tell you that you did great and you did your best under those horrific circumstances. I don't know how many people have ever stopped to thank you. Everybody needs encouragement. You are no exception.

The duties of an American President are far more complex and extensive than that of a president of any other country. Because you are not concerned only with the 52 states of your country, you are also concerned with happenings in other countries - China, N Korea, S Korea, Japan, Russia, France, the United Kingdom etc. I will probably never understand what you have to go through. I know, though, that it isn't easy. But I also know that you hold a lot of power.

Mr Bush, I have every confidence that you will win this war. I also have every confidence that hundreds of thousands of Iraqi lives will be destroyed. Because you won. I'm not saying you're right in moving towards war and I'm not saying you're wrong. I'm just asking you to please not go there.

Please, Mr Bush. Don't go to war.