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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 remains volatile in Iraq 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


 

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