We all know how badly President Donald Trump has advocated for being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. He has claimed that he has stopped eight wars.
Now that we have a two-week ceasefire agreement in our war with Iran, will he now claim that he has stopped nine wars, even though he started this one?
— Cary Barry, Mundelein
Religious framing in conflict
The letter by Mehran Arbab (“Weaponizing religion,” April 7) warning against the dangers of weaponizing religion raises an important concern. However, it presents an incomplete picture of the reality facing Israel, the United States and their allies.
I respect the writer’s recounting of his upbringing in Iran in a caring and supportive community. I suspect such core values are not representative of the Iranian government’s worldview.
Iran’s leadership has for decades embedded religious ideology into its foreign policy in ways that explicitly target both Israel and America. Senior Iranian leaders have repeatedly denied Israel’s legitimacy, predicted its destruction and framed that outcome as inevitable and justified. This is not fringe rhetoric — it comes from the highest levels of the Iranian government.
Chants of “Death to America” remain a normalized and state-tolerated expression in Iran’s political culture. While sometimes recharacterized as opposition to U.S. policy, the persistence and the prominence of this language underscore a deeply adversarial posture toward the United States.
Equally important are Iran’s actions. Its sustained support for armed proxy groups in the region — organizations that openly seek Israel’s destruction — demonstrates that this is not merely rhetorical. It is a strategy backed by resources, coordination and long-term intent.
None of this diminishes the tragic human cost of conflict, the collateral damage to Iranian citizens who just want a reasonable quality of life (as do we all) or the importance of rejecting religious justification for violence. But it does underscore a critical point: The use of religious framing in this conflict is not one-sided. It is a central feature of Iran’s own doctrine and behavior, and any serious discussion must acknowledge that reality.
— Rich Baird, Palatine
Our president’s character
Mehran Arbab’s poignant letter implores religious leaders and news media to do more than present a neutral or “balanced” response to the immoral actions of the current administration toward Iran, a nation that did not attack us. Arbab took a stand knowing that he was doing so at risk to himself. Retribution is the stated policy of the president toward anyone who disagrees with him. The Tribune should follow his courageous example and publish in full the irrational pronouncements that President Donald Trump feels free to spew.
Yes, the Tribune will risk retaliation for quoting him verbatim, but the public needs to be fully informed about the character of our commander in chief.
— Margaret Sents, Glenview
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Seeking peace through death
Pastor Mark Burns, an adviser to Donald Trump, stated that the president is not the pastor of the U.S. and is not its moral authority, referring to Trump’s profanity-laden statement over the weekend to Iran about opening the Strait of Hormuz.
While not the pastor of the United States, Trump surely represents the face of the United States on a daily basis, and that face is an ugly one. It is not the face of peace, concerning anything, and never has been. It is the face of an undiplomatic, untrustworthy, vengeful, vulgar, vindictive misery, cloaked in a flag of the president’s version of MAGA. It is what this country voted for, what it deserves and what it is going to continue to receive daily.
Benjamin Netanyahu, prime minister of Israel, recently stated that Jesus Christ had no advantage over Genghis Khan. That statement sums up the former and current prospects of an elusive “world peace.” Peace will try to come through death as always.
— David C. Schueler, Columbia, Illinois
Trump is unfit to lead us
Even as a conservative, I believe that President Donald Trump should be removed from office. Yes, we woke up Wednesday morning, and, thankfully, “a whole civilization” had not died in Iran. Nevertheless, Trump’s actions and rhetoric demonstrate that he is unfit to lead the country.
During his news conferences, Trump has struggled for words and lost his train of thought, and he comes off as generally confused. True, Trump has not yet demonstrated the dramatic deficits that Joe Biden did during his June 2024 presidential debate performance, but the country should not have to wait for Trump to reach that state of unfitness before the 25th Amendment is invoked.
While he is infamous for his hyperbole, Trump’s curse-laced social media rants made his statement of “Praise Allah” sound disrespectful, taunting and reckless. His endless threats, coupled with his waves of cussing, make Trump sound like a drunk in a bar looking for a fight.
Certainly, some of the calls for Trump’s removal are politically motivated, but that does not mean that his removal is unwarranted.
— Terry Takash, Western Springs
Destruction just beginning
I would like to respond to Patricia Bonk’s letter (“Let president end threat,” April 7) citing the aggressions Iran has inflicted on the United States for 47 years. Her advice is to “let the president end it.”
My question is: How?
Does Bonk honestly believe that bombing a country of 90 million-plus people, as much as they might be persecuted by their leaders, will cause them to love us more, as their country is destroyed and their children and family members are killed? Iranians are a very proud people, willing to sacrifice their lives for their beliefs. Does she really think that threats or actual actions that wipe out their power sources, their water sources and their bridges will end it? Does she think the parents of the children who were killed when their school was bombed are understanding our desire to end it?
After the U.S. bombs and kills even more of the regime and the citizens, will all Iranians accept that they are defeated?
A leader must ask the question: And then what?
An agreement even close to what was put in place by Barack Obama, which took nearly two years of negotiation, allowed in-depth inspections, and allowed Iran to maintain pride and coexist, is now a pipe dream.
So, President Donald Trump is dealing with Iran through aggression and death. And then what? Iran has learned the only way it can ever hope to keep this from happening again is to develop a nuclear weapon, as fast as it can.
Unfortunately, Trump isn’t ending it, but the destruction on both sides is sadly just beginning.
— Eugenie Lee Matula, Glen Ellyn
Warmongering behavior
As a retired educator, I enjoy reading Scott Ervin’s Sunday Tribune column “The Kid Whisperer.” He offers novel, unconventional solutions to disruptive student behaviors. These behaviors can hijack any classroom and challenge even the best teachers.
Lately, I think we’ve all noticed that these childish behaviors are not limited to children. Even the leader of the free world can exhibit the impetuous, manipulative, disruptive behaviors of a spoiled child — behaviors that go beyond classroom disruptions and that can potentially disrupt the entire world.
So, I have a request for Ervin: Please write a column on how to control the president’s undisciplined, belligerent, warmongering behavior before it’s too late.
— Sue Ellen Levins, Chicago
Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email [email protected].