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Surge Declared A Success Despite Starvation
2007 ended with a flood of news about how the troop surge is a great success in Iraq. Success is defined as the reduction of violence, including the decline in casualties for American troops.
Yes, deaths by bombs, bullets, and beheadings are apparently lower, but violence takes many deadly forms. Starvation is also violence. When you are a parent trying to comfort your dying child, it matters very little whether the cause was a bullet wound or diarrhea or starvation.
The big secret that no one is talking about is how millions of Iraqi civilians continue to suffer from starvation, homelessness, lack of basic medical care, and lack of sanitation. In early 2007, the United Nations reported that 8 million Iraqis were in critical need of food, medical care, and housing. They also reported that more than 2 million Iraqis were taking refuge in Syria and Jordan and other neighboring countries.
All this, 16 years after the U.S. military intelligence first reported on how the sanctions were successfully destroying Iraqi infrastructure, including access to clean water, food, and medical care. Ten years of sanctions killed between 1 and 3 million Iraqis, including at least half a million children. Deaths at this rate should have been ample evidence that sanctions are not a nonviolent alternative to war, but are in fact deadly weapons of mass destruction in a modern version of seige warfare.
And when 10 years of sanctions failed to inspire the Iraqi people to overthrow their cruel government, U.S. military leaders and consultants bragged about how their Shock and Awe attack on Iraq in 2003 would destroy Iraqi power and water plants to bring down the cruel Iraqi leaders. Our government and the media assured us that the Iraqi government would be targeted, but not the Iraqi people. Didn't anyone wonder how you could destroy a modern urban nation's sources of electricity, clean water, food, sewage treatment, and medical care without causing civilians to suffer horribly and die by the millions?
And now, after nearly five years of bloody war and revolution, we have happy reports about the surge while more than 8 million Iraqi people face winter without adequate food, medical care, and/or housing. Millions of Iraqis still do not have clean water or sewage disposal. To make this severe crisis even worse, in December the Iraqi government announced that food rations would be cut in half.
Things are also looking worse for the more than two million Iraqis who have fled to Syria, Jordan, and other countries where they are living in makeshift camps and not allowed to work. They are starving, too. Lest we forget our first big success in the War on Terror, Afghanistan, in that country at least half a million people are starving as they begin another winter.
Why does the suffering of these millions of human beings continue to go unreported in the news? Is there some kind of news blackout?
I am convinced that if Christians knew what was happening, they would do something to help.
--John Arnaldi (1-27-08)
Make Peace, Not War
Operation Iraqi Freedom has left more than 1 million Iraqis dead, 4 million homeless, and millions starving. So far 4000 Americans have died.
The truth is as ugly as the numbers: we never had any business being there. This war was wrong from the start and it's wrong now. It will stand in history as one of the great crimes against humanity.
After five years of twisting the facts, it should be clear that the politicians will not willingly end this war. They refused to listen to warnings before the war and they refuse to listen now.
We have given our power to politicians and corporations. They have failed to use the power and resources to benefit our nation. Instead they have used that power to wage endless war. Our leaders have failed us.
When any government commits crimes against humanity, it is the moral and legal obligation of the people to withdraw their authority for that government. War is never the answer to our problems - we must stop buying the lies of war. We must stop doing business as usual while others suffer at our hands. We must stop funding and voting for candidates that believe in endless war.
How will you answer Jesus' call to be a peacemaker?
Play: Voices of Truth
What I Heard About Iraq, a compelling play written by Simon Levy is being performed as readers theatre in the Tampa Bay area. Find out more about this inspiring witness and the schedule of Suncoast performances.
Is this a Just War?
The Just War doctrine dates back to pre-Christian Greek concepts and has evolved over the two thousand year history of Christianity. From the Catholic perspective, it demands strict respect of Catholic moral theory which protects the sanctity of human life. The Global War on Terror (aka War Without End) fails to meet any of the principles of the just war doctrine. Two Popes have pronounced the war against Iraq as unjust, yet the great majority of Catholic priests and other Christian ministers have remained silent.
Why are the Christian churches silent about Jesus' call to be peacemakers? Can war ever be just? And when are civilian deaths justifiable (if ever)?
These important questions are discussed in an in-depth examination of the Catholic Just War doctrine by the Reverend Emmanuel Charles McCarthy. He calls upon the Catholic bishops to "publicly repent" and "reclaim their moral authority by saying, 'This war is unjust and killing in it is murder.'"
Please read and distribute Father McCarthy's article, Christian Just War Theory and Moral Laxism. Then respectfully ask your minister, priest, or bishop to read it and explain their understanding of it.
You can read more articles about Just War, the Pro-War Church, and the Gospel of Peace at Articles.
Jesus and the War on Terror
"The Gospel of Jesus is a gospel of peace. No one who hears this message and follows it can be led to war. The war against terrorism is a failure to follow this teaching."
--From a minute recorded at the 2002 Annual Session of the New York Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers).
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Florida Protect Marriage Amendment
A Closer Look at the Sacredness of Marriage
This November, registered voters in Florida will decide on the Protect Marriage amendment to the state constitution. Supporters claim this amendment will protect marriage by banning gay marriage.
Before we vote, as Christians we need to ask ourselves four questions. For more, read A Closer Look at the Sacredness of Marriage.
5 Years and Counting: Why Is He Still in Prison?
Urgent Call for Justice for Sami Al-Arian
The Tampa jury said "not guilty" 8 times, Attorney General Gonzales approved the plea agreement that would have released him in April 2007, but Sami Al-Arian is being held indefinitely.
Tampa Quakers and other Christian, Muslim, and human rights groups have issued appeals for the Department of Justice to honor the plea agreement. Please join us in calling for justice.
View photos and background, and find out how you can help.
Why can't Americans see this film?
Award-winning film shows how war on terror is failing us. Find out why Americans can't see this film. Photos and detailed review. Listen to a panel discussion of the film. USA vs Al-Arian Film
Iraq Veterans Testify to War Crimes
Five Years On, Winter Soldier Hearings Begin
American veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have courageously come forward for truth-telling about what they witnessed in these wars. For more, watch Winter Soldier Hearings.
Life Is Sacred: Stop the Bloodshed
Quakers Call for Peace in Kenya
In January, as civil war broke out in Kenya, the Friends Church of Kenya issued a call for peace, including practical steps the Kenyan government can take to promote peace. Read more about this urgent Christian peace witness:
Pastoral Letter from Friends Church, Kenya (1-8-08)
Friends United Meeting links on Kenya
The Muslims Are Coming, the Muslims Are Coming!
Syrian-American Dr. Wafa Sultan's words in a popular Web video validate our worst fears about Muslims. But are we really in a clash of civilizations? Are Muslims uncivilized barbarians? Are Muslims more violent than non-Muslims? Read this Christian perspective by John Arnaldi: The Muslims Are Coming, the Muslims Are Coming!.
Quakers Lead Interfaith Peace Delegation to Iran
In Febraury, 2007, two internationally respected religious service organizations, the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) (Quakers) and the Mennonite Central Committee, led a delegation of Christian church leaders on a mission of peace to Iran. The delegation spent 2.5 hours meeting with President Ahmadinejad. Their meeting offers hope that war with Iran can be prevented by keeping lines of communication open.
To see a video of an interview with Mary Ellen McNish, AFSC General Secretary or to read the delegation's report, go to the Iran section on the AFSC Website.
Understanding the 2006 War on Lebanon
There should be a world of difference between the actions of civilized nations and terrorists. Yet, when it comes to the Middle East, it is getting harder to tell them apart.
Certainly, there is no confusion about the evilness of terrorism. Terrorists bomb civilian targets and kill innocent people. They show no respect for law or morality. They claim the right to ignore laws and kill civilians because they are fighting for a just cause.
But in Lebanon it's not just the terrorists who are bombing cities, killing civilians, and ignoring laws. The Israeli government also claims the right to break laws and kill civilians because it has a just cause. The Bush administration has supported Israel's claims and rushed shipments of bombs to Israel.
Under the Geneva Conventions destroying cities and killing civilians are war crimes. Killing civilians will not end terrorism or make anyone safer. War is not the answer.
--John Arnaldi, Letter to the Editor, Tampa Tribune (July 29, 2006)
Links to articles that analyze the 2006 War on Lebanon. Topics include:
- Israeli Voices for Peace
- American Jewish Voices for Peace
- Historical Perspectives
- Fire from the Sky
- Could These be War Crimes?
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