wfn.org | Religious Leaders to Congress: say occupation will end

["NCC News" <pjenks@ncccusa.org>]

Religious Leaders Urge Congress to declare that
U.S. occupation of Iraq won't go on forever

New York, June 8, 2005 -- Three religious leaders who led a peace movement to
avert war in Iraq are asking Congress to declare officially that the U.S.
occupation will end. 

"Such a declaration requires no timetable," the leaders declared in an op-ed
piece sent to U.S. media. "It simply establishes that the official policy of
our nation is to eventually depart from Iraq." 

The authors of the statement are Bob Edgar, NCC General Secretary, Joe Volk,
Executive Director, Friends Committee on National Legislation, and Jim
Winkler, General Secretary, Board of Church and Society, United Methodist
Church. 

The U.S. must not abandon the Iraqi people, the leaders said. But "the United
States military has been occupying Iraq and effectively controlling the
political situation for more than two years. In May the Congress voted final
approval for tens of billions of dollars to fund the Iraq war and occupation.
Military leaders tell us that U.S. troops will be needed in Iraq for years to
come. We believe there is a way to change this dynamic, to shift the
discussion from troop strength and weapons to how the U.S. may responsibly
withdraw."

"It is of the utmost importance for the U.S. Congress to make this official.
A declaration would ease growing concerns about U.S. imperial ambitions in
the region and fears that the U.S. desires to secure the region's oil fields
against the growing energy appetites of China and India," the op-ed piece
declares.

"Wouldn't it be better to pursue new U.S. energy policies to liberate us from
dependence on Middle East oil? Wouldn't it be more responsible of us to
protect our grandchildren from a big power war later this century rather than
begin now to prepare them to fight that war over declining reserves of fossil
fuel? Let's ask Congress to set U.S. policy in the direction of energy
independence and the prevention of the next big power war. Let's make it
possible for our grandchildren and the world's grandchildren to live in
peace, unafraid."

The full text of the op-ed piece:

Religious Leaders Urge Congress to Declare
That War in Iraq is Not Open-ended

An Op-Ed by 

Bob Edgar, General Secretary, National Council of Churches
Joe Volk, Executive Director, Friends Committee on National Legislation
|Jim Winkler, General Secretary, Board of Church and Society, United
Methodist Church 

(Eds: Please feel free to use this as an op-ed piece in your paper or in
other ways as you see fit.)

Having invaded and occupied Iraq, the United States must not abandon the
Iraqi people. And U.S. military forces and bases must withdraw from Iraq as
soon as possible. 

We call on the Congress to go on record that it is the policy of the United
States not to remain in Iraq as a military presence. 

In September 2002, when it was clear the U.S. was moving toward war with
Iraq, we called together faith leaders to organize opposition to the war. It
was and remains our belief that there was no connection between al-Qaeda and
Saddam's Baathist regime and we believed it was necessary to allow United
Nations weapons inspectors in Iraq to do their job. Moreover, we believed the
invasion of Iraq would be a catastrophe. 

Over the following six months, opposition to the war grew dramatically. At
the end of December 2002, we led a group of American church leaders to Iraq
as "humanitarian inspectors." We discovered Iraq did not want war and was in
a shambles as a result of a decade of punitive U.N. sanctions and the impact
of depleted uranium weapons used by the U.S. in the first Gulf War. 

In February 2003, we sent delegations of U.S. leaders to London, Berlin,
Rome, Paris and Moscow to meet with Tony Blair, Gerhard Schroeder, Pope John
Paul II, and senior aides to Jacques Chirac and Vladimir Putin. 

On February 15, 2003, 10 million people marched against the war in 600 cities
across the globe in the largest anti-war demonstration in human history. On
March 6, we coordinated prayer vigils for peace in 6,000 locations around the
world. Still, the U.S. military invasion happened and the situation in Iraq
continues to deteriorate. 

The United States military has been occupying Iraq and effectively
controlling the political situation for more than two years. In May the
Congress voted final approval for tens of billions of dollars to fund the
Iraq war and occupation. Military leaders tell us that U.S. troops will be
needed in Iraq for years to come. We believe there is a way to change this
dynamic, to shift the discussion from troop strength and weapons to how the
U.S. may responsibly withdraw. 

In the midst of this turmoil and tragedy, surely we can all agree that the
United States does not intend to remain in Iraq indefinitely or establish
permanent military bases. 

While the situation in Iraq remains volatile and the possibilities of a
Western-style democracy appear increasingly remote, President Bush has
repeatedly stated that the U.S. has no plans to stay in Iraq. 

Therefore, now is an important time for the Congress to go on record with a
declaration that it is the policy of the United States not to remain in Iraq.
Such a declaration requires no timetable -- it simply establishes that the
official policy of our nation is to eventually depart from Iraq. 

It is of the utmost importance for the U.S. Congress to make this official. A
declaration would ease growing concerns about U.S. imperial ambitions in the
region and fears that the U.S. desires to secure the region's oil fields
against the growing energy appetites of China and India. 

Oil and gas production in Iraq is expected soon and then will begin a steady
decline. As energy demand increases throughout the world and the supply of
fossil fuels declines, we face the possibility of endless warfare and
instability. Surely there is a better way. 

The oil and gas fields of the Middle East, the Caspian Sea basin and Central
Asia are of vital importance from a geo-strategic point of view. Might this
be the reason the U.S. is reluctant to leave Iraq? 

Wouldn't it be better to pursue new U.S. energy policies to liberate us from
dependence on Middle East oil? Wouldn't it be more responsible of us to
protect our grandchildren from a big power war later this century rather than
begin now to prepare them to fight that war over declining reserves of fossil
fuel? 

Let's ask Congress to set U.S. policy in the direction of energy independence
and the prevention of the next big power war. Let's make it possible for our
grandchildren and the world's grandchildren to live in peace, unafraid. 

Contact: NCC News. Philip E. Jenks, 212-870-2252, pjenks@ncccusa.org; Leslie
Tune, 202-544-2350, ltune@ncccusa.org