wfn.org | NCCCUSA Letter on Iraq to Clinton

[CAROL_FOUKE.parti@ecunet.org (CAROL FOUKE)]

National Council of the Churches of Christ in 
the U.S.A.
Contact: NCC News, 212-870-2227
Internet: news@ncccusa.org
Web: www.ncccusa.org and www.wfn.org

NCC EXECUTIVE BOARD WRITES CLINTON ON IRAQ

 NEW YORK, Feb. 16 ---- The National 
Council of Churches' policy-setting Executive 
Board today unanimously approved and then 
forwarded the following letter to President 
Clinton calling on him to pursue a 
humanitarian, not military, option in Iraq.

 The NCC is the leading U.S. ecumenical 
body with 34 member Protestant and Orthodox 
Christian denominations embracing nearly 52 
million congregants.

----

February 16, 1998

The Honorable William Jefferson Clinton
The White House
Washington DC  20005

Dear Mr. President:

The burden of leadership in the face of the 
Iraqi government's defiance of UN mandates is 
now, we believe, especially heavy and it is 
unavoidably yours to bear. As religious 
leaders, we write respectfully to offer you 
counsel rooted in the experience and the deeply 
held commitments of numerous religious 
communities both within and beyond our 
membership:

Continue diplomacy patiently, even 
doggedly. Insist on UN compliance but 
practice restraint.  Pursue a 
humanitarian, not a military, option.

The overwhelming reality is that there are no 
easy or readily apparent solutions to the 
current impasse. No options appear that are 
free of risks altogether. Our counsel:  Listen 
to that reality. Quick solutions pursued in a 
clouded landscape are morally suspect and 
historically dangerous.

Engaging in  military action, the unleashing of 
the awesome USA arsenal which you have often 
demonstrated a reluctance to pursue, clearly 
announces the failure of diplomacy on all sides 
and its exhaustion. But the choice of muscle is 
the suspect equivalent of belligerence, always 
morally ambiguous. Embracing such a choice is a 
special temptation reserved for strong men and 
women who see themselves pursuing a course that 
is right. Even our earlier military action 
failed to end repressive government in Iraq or 
stop the potential for belligerence. Our 
counsel:  Resist. The lure of military muscle 
is sometimes a false attraction.

We are not a body of pacifist religious 
communities, though there are strong pacifist 
traditions among us that often command our 
spiritual and ethical respect. Historically 
many of our churches have affirmed the 
defensive use of military power and even its 
deterrent value in a sinful world. We have 
however never supported its "first strike" use.  
We cannot support it now.

Our counsel arises from numerous and even 
varied religious voices now speaking with 
urgency. We have listened. We offer to you the 
recurring theme in their statements:  Seek a 
humanitarian and diplomatic, not a military, 
solution to the present confrontation with 
Iraq's leadership.

We affirm and identify with the careful 
reasoning of the United States Catholic 
Conference offered in counsel to the Secretary 
of State by Archbishop McCarrick. We too 
underscore international, multilateral efforts 
to address Iraq's non-compliance with UN 
authorization for weapons inspections. We too 
urge increased efforts to relieve the 
undeserved suffering of the Iraqi people while 
maintaining a ban on military supplies. We are 
especially hopeful that the terms of the 
embargo against Iraq can be shifted to allow 
the community of nations to address the need 
for food, clean water and healthcare for the 
Iraqi people. Thereby we believe there can be 
an end to the malnutrition and disease 
resulting in death which has now struck over 
one million Iraqis, half of them children. 
Through the embargo our nation has participated 
in an only partially effective strategy at the 
cost of needless human suffering, This must 
end! But the central message remains clear:  a 
means of resolution short of war must be found.

The official position of the United Methodist 
Church is strong:  our moral duty is to resolve 
conflicts by peaceful means. Its established 
social policy rejects war as ever being a 
legitimate instrument of foreign policy.  
United Methodist leaders affirm that there is 
no moral argument for inflicting further injury 
on any who hurt as the Iraqi people presently 
do.

The Black Church Liaison Committee of this 
Council, representative of the historic 
African-American Churches, said that in 
addition to Christian conscience and 
humanitarian concerns, it urges strongly that 
diplomacy continue. It spoke against any hasty 
government action that would result in further 
dehumanization and loss of innocent life in 
Iraq, and possibly escalate into a sacrifice of 
American lives as well.

The Church of the Brethren strongly urges US 
restraint.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, rightly reminding 
us of the aggressive commitment of President 
Hussein to develop further the horrible weapons 
of mass destruction, urges the Iraqi government 
to accept the UN mandates, a necessary 
contribution to a peaceful outcome.

The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) through its 
208th General Assembly has voiced its deep 
concern for the deplorable life conditions of 
the people of Iraq.  The Iraqi poor "have been 
swept away in the torrent of deprivation."  
"Food and medicine for oil" has been 
insufficient.  People have been sacrificed for 
political and economic interests and the United 
Nations has been caught in between.  While 
deploring the intransigence and cruelty of the 
present Iraqi regime, the General Assembly has 
spoken especially clearly on behalf of those 
who innocently suffer. 

The American Friends Service Committee, 
typically active for peace, is now providing 
over one thousand "Friendship Kits" for Iraqis. 
It urges patient diplomacy, notes the 
militarization of the Middle East as a whole 
and questions the consequences of any military 
action:  Will all inspections then be 
sacrificed? Will such actions actually 
strengthen support for President Hussein even 
beyond the Middle East?

Our friends in The Middle East Council of 
Churches offer counsel informed by their life 
in the threatened region:  seek a solution 
based in peace, not war, in diplomacy not 
violence. Iraq is not the only nation which has 
defied UN mandates without confronting military 
reprisal. Negotiations must continue.

The American Muslim Council speaks of the 
danger of turning world opinion against the US 
instead of destabilizing the repressive regime 
of Saddam Hussein. Further it questions the 
effectiveness of air strikes in achieving any 
resolution and brands them pointless, except 
for inflicting suffering on the innocent.

Religious voices in Canada sound similar themes 
in their counsel to Prime Minister Chretien. 
They urge him to decline the invitation to join 
Canadian forces to a military action. They cite 
the lack of evidence that a military attack 
will succeed where diplomacy has failed. They 
raise concern for infectious atmospheric leaks 
from damage to chemical or biological weapons 
from air attacks unleashing threats to life 
beyond control. In company with Middle East 
voices they note the weakened capacity of UN 
mandates in the light of the continuing 
defiance of other Security Council resolutions 
related to the Middle East. Finally they base 
their counsel in the moral and even strategic 
indefensibility of inflicting further suffering 
on the Iraqi people.

Other religious voices are being heard. These 
references are only samples. The full texts 
currently available are attached. The theme is 
consistent:  Pursue diplomacy; do not choose 
military action.

Finally, we have asked ourselves, is there a 
morally defensible course of action that can 
offer US policy the "high ground"? We believe 
the key lies in allowing the Iraqi people to 
see the United States and the community of 
nations as compassionate friends, not agents of 
injury, threat and pain. The demonizing 
portrayal of the United States by the Iraq 
Government will only be confirmed by resorting 
to military action.

Alternatively an aggressive humanitarian 
embrace of Iraqi people offers a resolution 
through compassion and puts forward a sign of 
hope. It is not too late for such a course and 
it can be pursued at a fraction of the cost of 
war. It builds on the provisions of aid in 
which our member churches and other religious 
communities have long engaged.  It promises to 
draw Iraq back into the family of nations in 
place of a future of greater isolation and 
disrespect. It offers healing not further hurt. 
It conforms to the best in the hearts of the 
American people.

We are attracted to the Mennonite proposal of 
"a massive effort to provide medicine and food 
for starving and sick Iraqi people." Suppose 
our planes and personnel were commissioned to 
deliver aid, not drop bombs. Suppose our policy 
was to resupply hospitals, offer skilled 
medical care, open access to foodstuffs, 
rebuild the infrastructure needed for the flow 
of life, pursue economic development and other 
foundational ingredients of peace. It is a 
vision with practical and strategic 
possibility. 

We believe such a massive humanitarian response 
is possible. It offers "high ground." It would 
allow the world to breathe easier beyond 
anxiety and tension. It would conform to the 
religious instincts of the American people and 
give voice to our most deeply shared 
commitments of faith. It would be an act of 
brave leadership in the heritage of President 
Lincoln who reached out to heal in the wake of 
the civil war.

There is practical wisdom as well as spiritual 
counsel in the words of Scripture:  "Vengeance 
is mine, I will repay, says the Lord. Do not be 
overcome by evil but overcome evil with good."

You, as President, and others who lead our 
nation in this difficult time will continue in 
our prayers. We offer the communities of faith 
we represent as partners in a humanitarian 
course of response to Iraq. We are eager to 
provide aid and healing. We counsel:  

Pursue diplomacy. Urge Iraqi compliance. 
Resist the military option. Offer aid and 
healing. Build peace.
Respectfully, with our prayers for God's wisdom 
and our courage to follow,

The Right Rev. Craig B. Anderson, President

The Rev. Dr. Joan Brown Campbell, General 
Secretary

Other Officers:

Bishop Melvin B. Talbert
Immediate Past  President

Dr. Will L. Herzfeld
Vice President, Church World 
Service

The Rev. Dr. Margaret J. Thomas
Treasurer

Dr. Sylvia M. Faulk
Vice President-at-Large

The Rev. Dr.Elenora Giddings 
Ivory
Vice President ,National 
Ministries Unit

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