‘What kind of community have we become?’ In his April 2003 Newsletter, New South Wales Synod General Secretary, the Rev. Dr Chris Budden, asks the church, “Will we name this war [against Iraq]
not simply as wrong but evil?”
Dr Budden said, “I have begun this column on the train. It is Wednesday, March 20, 2003. The headline on my paper says, ‘Australia chooses War’. I feel a deep sense of sadness that Australia has, for the first time in its history committed itself to be the aggressor in a war, and does so without the support of both sides of parliament or the Australian people.
“There are two issues for the Christian community. The first has to do with the sort of community we will become as a result of the decision to go to war against Iraq.
“There is no doubt that Saddam has become a paranoid and oppressive dictator. There is also no doubt that, until UN sanctions were imposed after 1991, he provided the infrastructure for one of the most well-off countries in the region. There is also no question but that until 1991 he was armed and supported by those nations who now wish to destroy him.
“There is no doubt that he has oppressed the Kurds. Nor is there any doubt that Turkey has been bombing the Kurdish community in Northern Iraq for ten years as a way of controlling its own Kurdish community (and has done so with the blessing of the US and Britain). War will not bring liberation for the Kurds, with Turkey having been given a military role in Northern Iraq in return for the use of their bases.
“Since World War II it has been clear in international law that no nation may declare war without the backing of the UN, and no war may be declared unless a nation is under attack or believes an attack is imminent. Even the UN cannot sanction a pre-emptive strike. There is no evidence that Iraq has the capacity or intention to launch an attack on any other nation. To join a pre-emptive strike is not just illegal, but will forever change the international community. All this does is prove that there is only one superpower.
“Nor is there any evidence that Iraq has weapons of mass destruction or the means to deliver such weapons even if it has them. There has been no convincing argument that military action is needed when the weapons inspectors could remain and continue to monitor the area, particularly when they seek weapons and chemical products provided by the US and Britain in the first place.
“Given the countries that possess these, the owning of ‘weapons of mass destruction’ is hardly enough reason for war. There needs to be evidence that they are about to be used.
“Nor has anyone provided evidence that Iraq supports terrorism or has any desire to transfer weapons to terrorist groups.
“Why this action against this dictator? Why not action against Israel to uphold numerous UN resolutions? Why do we tolerate a dictator in Pakistan, which has nuclear weapons? Maybe, with pre-emptive strikes established as the new way to rule the world, we will act to (using our Prime Minister’s words) ‘discipline’ such countries as Korea and others who dare to believe that they have the same right to nuclear weapons as the US.
“Why does Australia contribute to the undermining of the authority of the UN and international law? Why do we claim the UN has failed because it has not done what one member (the US) insists it should do?
“That is one set of questions. But there is another that is more important for the church: who will we be as the Christian community at this time? Will we cling to our old identity as good citizen and supporter of the government, or will we forge an identity for ourselves as Christian community shaped by our citizenship of Christ’s kingdom?
“Will we defend the ordinary people (60 per cent of the people of Iraq are children who have suffered from ten years of UN sanctions) or those who economic and political plans to change the world to serve US interests? Will we agree that the death of a person in Iraq is just as tragic as a death in Bali, and raining 3,000 bombs on a city is a crime against humanity?
“Will we deny the claim of those who would make God their supporter, and hold up before the world the Prince of Peace, the bearer of the cross, the One who says we turn the other cheek or walk another mile with those who oppress us?
“Will we name this war not simply as wrong but evil? Will we pray for the troops on both sides of the conflict, and rail against those whose pride and arrogance and desire for control would commit us to this terror? Will we weep as an oppressed people have their lives destroyed by bombs and bullets, and try to light a candle of protest and hope in a dark world?”
Discussion
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