St Luke's Church Eccleshill - Articles from "The Link"

Should America attack Iraq?

I don’t feel very competent to write about international security, but this issue is very live at the moment in our media, the bishops have issued a statement, and there have been local debates among churches. We all agree that international terrorism is a problem which needs sorting, and that the present regime in Iraq is not good for world peace. But we have genuine differences about what is the best action to take.

On the one hand, we in Britain are much more cautious than our American allies about war on Iraq. We have many Muslim people living in Britain, and we realize that you can’t tar them all with the same brush. It would be wrong to fight a war without definite proof of Iraqi intentions and capacities, and so far the evidence is not overwhelming. We are concerned to occupy the moral high ground, and much has been written about conditions for a “just war” (see the diocesan web site, www.bradford.anglican.org, for a discussion of this).

Our bishops issued a 28-page statement(!) on war against Iraq. A “just war” requires a just cause, proper authority, right aims, and to be a last resort. The “proper authority” would ideally be the UN, and until moves for a UN resolution definitely fail, blocking the return of weapons inspectors, a war cannot be a “last resort.” The bishops called on the government not to support war without UN sanction.

On the other hand, many of us are pessimistic about the UN - is it really more than a talk-shop? I agree with the Defence Secretary of the US, who pointed out that Iraq responds to strong words backed up by the threat of action; and strong words now are better than last-resort action later.

Brian Shaw in Lexington, when I e-mailed my thoughts to him, replied: “The war drums are pounding over here. Gen. Anthony Zinni, the former mid-east envoy, gave a talk at one of our dinners a few weeks back. This guy is a tough old Marine who knows the middle east like the back of his hand. He, and many other military guys, are urging extreme caution and thoughtful deliberation. Our president just seems to ignore them. I fear many, many lost lives with no clear resolution at the end. I’m not sure the American people know what we’re getting into. Here at the Marshall Foundation we have many letters Marshall wrote to the families of men and boys killed during WWII. It tears one’s heart out to read them.”

I don’t know the way through this question, but we have to keep up the mental effort and prayer to find the right answer.

John Hartley

	*St Luke's Church, Eccleshill - The Link* magazine** The Link is published monthly at 40p (Senior Citizens 35p), and we deliver free within the parish and post copies (at the reader's expense) to those who request it. Please contact us if you would like a free copy for a trial period. November 2002, Page 10.
Home Page. Index of articles. Race & Faiths: index, World faith, Riots, Twinning, Aire, Iraq, Bussing. Bradford Diocese resource pages including items on war. In this issue: (November 2002) Vicar's letter, Wildfire, Window, small services, bussing in USA, Iraq, Jelleys.	Should America attack Iraq? I don’t feel very competent to write about international security, but this issue is very live at the moment in our media, the bishops have issued a statement, and there have been local debates among churches. We all agree that international terrorism is a problem which needs sorting, and that the present regime in Iraq is not good for world peace. But we have genuine differences about what is the best action to take. On the one hand, we in Britain are much more cautious than our American allies about war on Iraq. We have many Muslim people living in Britain, and we realize that you can’t tar them all with the same brush. It would be wrong to fight a war without definite proof of Iraqi intentions and capacities, and so far the evidence is not overwhelming. We are concerned to occupy the moral high ground, and much has been written about conditions for a “just war” (see the diocesan web site, www.bradford.anglican.org, for a discussion of this). Our bishops issued a 28-page statement(!) on war against Iraq. A “just war” requires a just cause, proper authority, right aims, and to be a last resort. The “proper authority” would ideally be the UN, and until moves for a UN resolution definitely fail, blocking the return of weapons inspectors, a war cannot be a “last resort.” The bishops called on the government not to support war without UN sanction. On the other hand, many of us are pessimistic about the UN - is it really more than a talk-shop? I agree with the Defence Secretary of the US, who pointed out that Iraq responds to strong words backed up by the threat of action; and strong words now are better than last-resort action later. Brian Shaw in Lexington, when I e-mailed my thoughts to him, replied: “The war drums are pounding over here. Gen. Anthony Zinni, the former mid-east envoy, gave a talk at one of our dinners a few weeks back. This guy is a tough old Marine who knows the middle east like the back of his hand. He, and many other military guys, are urging extreme caution and thoughtful deliberation. Our president just seems to ignore them. I fear many, many lost lives with no clear resolution at the end. I’m not sure the American people know what we’re getting into. Here at the Marshall Foundation we have many letters Marshall wrote to the families of men and boys killed during WWII. It tears one’s heart out to read them.” I don’t know the way through this question, but we have to keep up the mental effort and prayer to find the right answer. John Hartley
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