Churches oppose troop surge in Iraq

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Churches oppose troop surge in Iraq

Mainline church leaders are expressing opposition to President Bush's plan to escalate U.S. troop presence in Iraq...

(snip)

"We are disappointed by the lack of vision and imagination which sees more force as the only answer," said Jim Winkler, the chief social justice spokesperson for the United Methodist Church, of which Bush is a member. "This is not a time to escalate a failed policy of war but to begin a serious attempt at a robust diplomatic effort."

Even as Democrats, newly in control of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, debated what steps to take to oppose or curtail, if possible, the Bush administration's plans, Winkler urged Congress to withhold any additional money to continue the costly war that was launched in 2003.

"Congress should provide funding only to bring U.S. troops home and to aid in rebuilding Iraq," said Winkler, general secretary of the United Methodist Board of Church and Society. The denomination, like most mainline churches, has opposed the U.S.-led invasion and occupation since its prelude four years ago when the administration argued that the Iraq regime had weapons of mass destruction—a claim found to be false.

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When King "broke his silence" about the Vietnam War 40 years ago at the Riverside Church in New York City, said John H. Thomas, the top official of the United Church of Christ, the black Baptist minister warned that "procrastination is the thief of time" and "too late" is the pathetic excuse of remnant civilizations.

"We still have a choice today: Nonviolent coexistence or violent co-annihilation," said King then, as quoted by Thomas. The UCC general minister-president assessed Bush's speech as "morally deficient." The war "that failed to meet the criteria for a just war . . . cannot achieve the goals of a just peace," he said.

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The National Council of Churches statement characterized Bush's call for more troops "morally unsupportable." In the wake of "the barbaric execution of Saddam Hussein," which the NCC said "mocks" the ideals of democracy and justice, the White House decision to escalate the military force contradicted both the Iraq Study Group recommendations and the November election results.

http://www.christiancentury.org/article.lasso?id=2853

[hashibabba]

1. Good for the liberal UMC and National Council of Churches! eom

[bobbolink]

2. I'm glad their speaking out!

I still miss the strong words of William Sloan Coffin... I Hope there are others ready in the wings to take up where he left off!