wfn.org | [PCUSANEWS] Measures condemn Iraq war, prisoner abuse

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Note #8415 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:

Measures condemn Iraq war, prisoner abuse
GA04122
July 2, 2004

Measures condemn Iraq war, prisoner abuse

Assembly rejects U.S. policy of 'pre-emptive' military action

by Alexa Smith

RICHMOND, July 2 - The 216th General Assembly approved two actions on Iraq
Friday afternoon.

The first was a report, "Iraq: Our Responsibility and the Future," that lays
out a plan for Iraq's reconstruction and pledges the Presbyterian Church
(USA) to support the approximately one million Christians there - including
about 2,500 Presbyterians.

The Assembly also passed a measure deploring the torture and abuse of
prisoners in U.S. custody in Iraq and in Guantanamo, Cuba, and calling
Presbyterians to repentance on their account.

Both measures came to the Assembly through the Committee on Peacemaking.

The paper on Iraq condemns the U.S. policy of pre-emptive military action
against nations perceived as a threat to the United States as ethically
indefensible and contrary to the "just war" theory that has been the basis of
much Christian theology on warfare.

Just war theory holds, among other things, that a war can be just only when
waged as a last resort, after all non-violent options have been exhausted;
when the violence used is proportional to the injury the war is intended to
redress; and when the weapons used discriminate between combatants and
non-combatants.

The paper approved by the Assembly calls the U.S.-led coalition's invasion of
Iraq was "unwise, immoral and illegal," and says further that, because it was
not directly linked to the U.S. effort to deal with terrorism, it raises
different moral questions than the U.S. bombing of Afghanistan in response to
the Sept. 11 terror attacks on New York City and Washington, DC.

It also demands that the U.S. government "internationalize" the
reconstruction effort in Iraq; that the United Nations play a leading role in
recruiting and training Iraqis to re-establish the rule of law in the
country, and reducing the role of the U.S. military as much as possible; and
condemns "in the strongest possible terms" the torture and abuse of prisoners
in U.S. custody anywhere in the world.

Ethicist Ed Long, the principal author of the paper, told reporters that it
condemns the United States' "international Lone Ranger-ism" because it
destabilizes the international community. "It also urges us to cooperate with
all nations in the world, through the United Nations, for the reconstruction
and rehabilitation of Iraq," he said.

The paper also calls on the General Assembly Council (GAC) to have an action
plan in place by 2006 that includes sending mission personnel to Iraq to work
with churches there; and urges Presbyterians to "give sacrificially" in
support of Iraqi Christians.

The Rev. Younan Shiba, the pastor of two Presbyterian churches in Baghdad and
a guest at the Assembly, had told the commissioners, "We need your help."

In debate about whether to term the war "illegal," a commissioner asked Shiba
whether Iraqis were better off before the invasion - and he said yes. He has
said repeatedly that the United States had no plan to govern Iraq after
toppling its government, and the results have included rampant crime and
chaos.

In the resolution on abuse of prisoners, the Assembly said: "These actions
have undercut American claims to a moral high ground and opened the way for
enemies to maltreat members of our own society that fall into their hands.
Moreover, they constitute flagrant violations" of the Geneva Convention.

The Assembly approved a resolution "On Violence, Religion and Terrorism" that
lays out Christian beliefs about terrorism and disavows the use of preemptive
strikes against other nations to deter terrorism.

Finally, the Assembly approved an overture calling for an end to human-rights
abuses in Colombia and calling for pressure on transnational corporations to
protect employees who engage in trade-union activities.

This story and many others may have photos, media, video clips that can be
found at http://www.pcusa.org/ga216/.

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