Letters to the Editor - April 23, 2026

Confronting evil

War is never a good solution to international disputes, and casualties are always too many, but sometimes it cannot be avoided.

For 47 years, Iran has spread terror throughout the Middle East and beyond. Directly and through proxies like Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis, it has attacked neighbors, killed over 1000 American servicemen and civilians, and organized assassination plots against U.S. leaders. Iran also sponsored Hamas’s October 7 massacre, in which 1,200 Israelis died and 250 were taken hostage.

Every American administration since 1979 has attempted to neutralize Iran’s aggression. Every avenue has been explored: bribery, sanctions, and appeasement.

Iran responded by building offensive missiles, pursuing nuclear weapons, and funding and training terror proxies. When Iranian citizens peacefully protested their resulting economic and political conditions, they were tortured and executed. In recent months alone, the regime is estimated to have murdered between 10,000 and 30,000 of its own citizens, with more executions recently announced.

After reports indicated Iran possessed significant quantities of highly enriched uranium and was sprinting toward a bomb, the U.S. engaged in diplomacy (ultimately futile) before striking nuclear development centers. However, Iran restarted its program and increased missile production, prompting further attacks and counterattacks, including the Iranian closure of the Straits of Hormuz and a subsequent U.S. blockade of Iranian ports.

Iran’s actions also triggered attacks from proxies like Hezbollah, which has effectively captured Lebanon. In violation of UN Resolution 1701, Hezbollah built terror infrastructure in Lebanon opposite Israel’s northern border. Following October 7, they fired thousands of rockets into Israel from positions embedded within civilian areas, stashing weapons in homes and schools, deliberately putting civilians in harm’s way. While Lebanon’s elected government has recently struggled to disarm Hezbollah, it has failed to do so, and Israel has begun that task. Now Israeli and Lebanese officials are meeting to find a path toward achieving this goal together.

At its core, this conflict revolves around Iran’s desire to dominate the region and hold the world hostage with nuclear weapons. While every recent U.S. president has stated that Iran must never obtain such weapons, no plan has yet successfully achieved that goal.

This conflict is the price the world is paying to finally confront the evil intentions of the current Iranian regime. It is not pretty, and it is not without civilian casualties, mistakes, or immense cost. However, it may be the last chance the world has to eradicate the threat posed by a regime that seeks only domination, death and destruction.

We pray for a quick and successful end to this conflict, and for the safety of the civilians caught in its wake.

Michael Auerbach

Alan Friedman

Nadav Goshen

Lawrence Hutzler

Thomas Morrison

Lakeville

Happy Birthday, NDP!

Have you heard we are celebrating the 75th Annual

National Day of Prayer May 7, 2026?! It’s coinciding with America’s 250th Anniversary, which leaders are calling a “providential” convergence. The 2026 Theme is “Glorify God among the Nations,

seeking Him in all generations” as our Founding Fathers did 250 years ago. Every U.S. President has signed a Proclamation for the National Day of Prayer which was amended in 1988 to be held annually on the First Thursday in May. This milestone event, established by Congress in 1952, features thousands of local gatherings all across our Nation’s fifty states.

Let’s join together to celebrate this significant event with our very own North-West Corner neighbors. I’m excited to see many friends turning out to hear generous town leaders read a prayer for their respective community roles and perhaps a few surprises!Mark your calendars for Thursday, May 7th at 6:00pm, Salisbury Town Hall, War Memorials. See you there!

Mary T. Davis

Lakeville