Episcopal Press and News
Presiding Bishop Urges Humanitarian, Not Military, Option in Iraq
Episcopal News Service. February 26, 1998 [98-3009]
(ENS) Presiding Bishop Frank T. Griswold joined other religious leaders and the National Council of Churches in signing a letter urging President Clinton to seek a humanitarian solution to the crisis in Iraq.
The NCC letter urges Clinton to "continue diplomacy patiently, even doggedly. Insist on UN compliance but practice restraint. Pursue a humanitarian, not a military, option." Endorsed by the NCC's executive board, the letter said "unleashing the awesome USA arsenal...clearly announces the failure of diplomacy," and suggests that a decision to "use muscle is the suspect equivalent of belligerence, always morally ambiguous."
The religious leaders, led by NCC president Bishop Craig Anderson, told Clinton they "respectfully offer counsel rooted in the experience and the deeply held commitments of numerous religious communities." Their advice: "Resist. The lure of military muscle is sometimes a false attraction."
Noting that historically some churches have supported "defensive use of military power, and even its deterrent value in a sinful world," the religious leaders added, "We have however never supported its 'first strike' use. We cannot support it now."
Griswold said in his statement that he endorses the NCC policy and encourages "drawing Iraq back to the family of nations through aggressive relief to the Iraqi people, rather than continuing a policy of isolation."
"Some time ago I came across an editorial note in a small collection of Muslim prayers," Griswold wrote. "Muhammad Kamil Husain published in 1954 a remarkable study of the arrest and suffering of Jesus and what he saw as the significance of Good Friday for the Muslim...It studies the dilemma of Jesus' disciples after Gethsemane, and the chapter ends as follows:
"'They called upon God in these words: 'O God, guide those who preside over human affairs that they...do not inflict on others wrongs that are immediate and concrete for the sake of something supposedly and ultimately good for society. For this is the origin of man's tragic trouble and the source of the evil within him'"
"Would that all Muslims, all Jews and Christians might pray this prayer with fervor and understanding: all Muslims, all Jews and all Christians who worship one God."
Griswold also noted that his endorsement is based on a number of sources, including Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey's recent statement calling for a diplomatic solution while urging the Iraqi government to accept the UN mandates as a necessary contribution to a peaceful outcome. Carey's statement was commended by the Episcopal Church's Executive Council meeting last week in San Jose, California.
The NCC and Griswold's statement come at time of escalating tensions in the Middle East as U.S. and British forces gather in the Persian Gulf, preparing for coordinated, massive air strikes against suspected Iraqi weapons facilities.
At the same time, United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan and other diplomats are in Iraq attempting to broker a last-minute, peaceful settlement to the Iraqi stalemate over UN inspections of suspected Iraqi chemical and biological weapons installations. The NCC letter also recognizes the advice of the Middle East Council of Churches "informed by their life in the threatened region." The MECC advised: "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 also has warned "of the danger of turning world opinion against the U.S. instead of destabilizing the repressive regime of Saddam Hussein. Further, it questions the effectiveness of air strikes in achieving any resolution...except for inflicting suffering on the innocent."
The NCC asks, "is there a morally defensible course of action that can offer U.S. 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 demoralizing portrayal of the United States by the Iraqi government will only be confirmed by resorting to military action.
"Alternatively, an aggressive humanitarian embrace of the Iraqi people offers a resolution through compassion and puts forward a sign of hope," the NCC said. "It is not too late for such a course and it can be pursued at a fraction of the cost of war...It promises to draw Iraq back into the family of nations in place of greater isolation and disrespect. It offers healing not further hurt. It conforms to the best in the hearts of the American people."
Endorsing a Mennonite proposal of a "massive effort to provide medicine and food for starving and sick Iraqi people," the NCC suggests that if U.S. bombers delivered aid instead of bombs, it would offer the president the moral "high ground" he seeks. "We believe such a massive humanitarian response is possible" and is a vision "with practical and strategic possibility."
The NCC's final words for President Clinton were succinct: "Pursue diplomacy. Urge Iraqi compliance. Resist the military option. Offer aid and healing. Build peace."