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WHY I’M OPPOSED TO A WAR WITH IRAQ - opinion article by Rev. Geoff Nelson

I want to take a different direction in my article this month.  With the pressure mounting for another war in Iraq, I have felt the need to share with you all my opinions on such a war.  There has been some discussion in the press, but I find it quite shallow and rare is the discussion from a Christian perspective.

            You may be familiar with what is called the Just War theory or rationale.  What that does is set out the arguments for war based on Biblical and Christian historical perspectives.  There is no one I’m familiar with that can justify a pre-emptive strike against Iraq by the US alone, using the Just War guidelines.

            What has astounded me all along is the leap the Bush Administration wants us to make from Sept. 11, 2001 to Saddam Hussain. After Sept. 11, 2001, the whole world stood with the USA in our pain and grief.  The decision to take on Iraq risks “squandering an historic opportunity to work together with the international community to contain and to disarm belligerent nations,” to quote from some material I’m familiar with.  The war on terrorism needs as much international cooperation as can be mustered.  Going off on our own like this can only damage our credibility.

            Such a war smacks of empire building, and our nation was not founded to be an empire, but to be a “light to the nations.”  The way of democracy, tolerance of differences and cooperation that our nation can, in our best moments, exemplify to the world, is what we should be about.

            Given the low level of threat that Iraq presents, I believe there are many more terribly pressing needs in our country where the money could be better spent.  The money that is going into a war with Iraq is money that could be better spent on health care, education, or any of a number of needs that will strengthen us from within.  The threat to our individual liberties and privacy rights are also threatened by the direction that our leadership seems to be taking us.

We are called to higher ideals than to throw our weight around now that we are the only super power in the world.  We in the church must be the last to call for war, and we must continually remind our leaders, and each other, that God calls us to better things.

Grace & peace

Geoff