wfn.org | Bishop joins signers in letter to Blair

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March 18, 2003	 News media contact: Linda Bloom7(212) 870-38037New York
10-21-71B{144}

By United Methodist News Service

United Methodist Bishop Melvin Talbert is a signer of "A Letter From
Concerned Americans" to British Prime Minister Tony Blair that appeared March
18 in British newspapers.

The letter, placed as a full-page advertisement in The London Times, The
Financial Times, The Guardian, The Telegraph and The Independent, asks Blair
to find "a third way" to resolve the situation in Iraq, rather than war or
inaction.

"It is two minutes before midnight, and the world's people are desperate for
an alternative to war," states the letter, written by Jim Wallis, executive
director and editor-in-chief of Sojourners, a Christian ministry with a
mission to integrate spiritual renewal and social justice.

The letter acknowledges the need to disarm Saddam Hussein and remove the
Iraqi dictator from power but calls for "a better solution than war to
accomplish our goals. The people of Iraq have already suffered greatly, and
we must not inflict even more suffering upon them." 

Besides Wallis and Talbert, who is the ecumenical officer for the United
Methodist Council of Bishops, the letter's signers are Episcopal Bishop John
Chane of Washington; the Rev. Clifton Kirkpatrick, stated clerk, Presbyterian
Church USA; and the Rev. Dan Weiss, American Baptist Churches in the USA.

All the signers were part of a U.S. National Council of Churches delegation
that met Feb. 18 with Blair in his offices at 10 Downing St. The prime
minister spent 50 minutes with the religious leaders in a discussion that
delegation members considered "engaging, productive and honest."

The advertisement, funded by an organization called Business Leaders for
Sensible Priorities, was timed to coincide with a March 18 debate in the
House of Commons. The debate was to culminate in a vote on whether to support
Blair's plans to join the United States in military action against Iraq.

Wallis told United Methodist News Service that he believes the British prime
minister is the one person besides U.S. President George Bush who can stop
the impending war. "I think Tony Blair has the capacity to provide the kind
of political imagination and moral leadership that we need right now," he
explained. "Whether he can do it, whether he will do it, is the question." 

Britain, Spain and the United States have tried to convince other members of
the U.N. Security Council to approve a resolution authorizing the use of
military force to remove weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. But those
diplomatic efforts have been abandoned. In a March 17 address to the nation
from the White House, President Bush gave Saddam Hussein 48 hours to go into
exile or face a military attack.

The letter attempts to convince Blair not to follow that course. "Mr. Prime
Minister, we appeal to you as a man of moral and religious convictions to
persuade our president (Bush) not to take our countries into a war that could
have terrible, bitter and divisive consequences," the letter says.

Instead, the letter urges Blair to consider a six-point plan developed by
American religious leaders. Those six points call for the:

7	Indictment of Saddam Hussein for crimes against humanity, leading to
a trial at the International Court in The Hague.
7	Pursuit of "coercive disarmament" through intensified inspections
backed by a U.N.-mandated multinational force.
7	Fostering of a democratic Iraq through a temporary U.N.
administration rather than a U.S military occupation.
7	Organization of a massive humanitarian effort for the people of Iraq
now, not after a war.
7	Commitment to a "roadmap" to peace in the Middle East.
7	Reinvigoration of international cooperation in the campaign against
terrorism.

"Such a morally rooted and pragmatic initiative could help achieve a historic
breakthrough and set a precedent for decisive and effective international
action instead of a war," the letter continues.

Wallis, who said he remains deeply concerned about and distrustful of Saddam
Hussein, believes the six-point initiative is feasible. "For me, this is not
just a rhetorical or symbolic effort," he added. "I really think this plan
could work."

More information on the six-point plan is available at www.sojo.net/action,
the Sojourners Web site.

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United Methodist News Service
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