03/23/2004: "WCC blusters on Iraq"

The World Council of Churches marked the first anniversary of the invasion of Iraq with a statement. Rather than doing the simple thing and using the one from Stalinist front group International A.N.S.W.E.R., the WCC put out one of its own:

One year after the pre-emptive, illegal attack on Iraq, the World Council of Churches calls upon all to reflect its seen and unforeseen consequences and reaffirms its previous conviction that the war on Iraq was immoral, ill-advised and in breach of the principles of the UN Charter.

It's interesting that they emphasize the legalities. In 1991, the WCC opposed the Gulf War despite its sanction by the UN Security Council. And they really aren't terribly picky about all the UNSC resolutions Iraq violated or ignored.

Beyond the physical pains that so many Iraqis feel it�s the trauma and anxiety of the future that haunt the larger Iraqi population. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, "True peace is not merely the absence of tension, it is the presence of justice."

This is true. The Iraqi population is terrified that Saddam Hussein might be tried by the Axil of Weasel, which will take some of the billions he got from the Oil-for-Food Program to grease the skids for his triumphant return to Baghdad. Fortunately, now that the US has him, they aren't going to let him go. We need to reassure the Iraqis of that.

There can be no true justice for the Iraqi people when there is the absence of a permanent Iraqi government based on free, democratic elections with the adherence to a constitution that would protect all religious, ethnic and national groupings while maintaining the nation�s sovereignty and territorial integrity. Human rights and the rule of law must be at the forefront of all efforts to encourage the building of representative, democratic institutions.

Huh? Where was the WCC when Saddam was butchering his people, running one of the world's most horrific police states, and winning elections with 100% of the vote? I can tell you where�heads buried firmly in the sand. In 2000, 2001, and the first seven months of 2002, the WCC put out exactly one news release or statement about Iraq, and that was about the effects of sanctions (read: Oil-for-Food theft) on Iraqi children. Their concern for "free, democratic elections," "adherence to a constitution," "human rights" and the "rule of law" all got activated when Saddam was overthrown and it looked like there was a possibility of a Western-style, Western-friendly government being installed in Baghdad.

The World Council of Churches notes with dismay the impact of the military and economic occupation of Iraq brought upon by the United States, Britain and others. We continue to be very concerned about the long-term political, social, cultural and religious consequences of the war and the continued occupation.

Their translator must have overdone the wine at lunch. I'm not really sure what they're getting at, but let's guess they're talking about the consequences of the occupation. To wit: Iraq is in better economic shape than it has been in years, free speech is running rampant, far fewer Iraqis have died violently at the hands of al-Qaeda, Ansar al-Islam, and their buddies than would have died violently at the hands of Saddam's sadists, Shiites and Kurds now feel like they have a stake in the country, the restoration of the lands of the Marsh Arabs will be starting soon if it hasn't already...oh, wait a minute. Those aren't the consequences the WCC had in mind. They're talking about the lack of security against the terrorist actions of foreign fanatics. I know what will help: the US military needs to leave. That'll do it!

The impact continues to exacerbate intense hatred towards the "western world" strengthening extremist ideologies, which breeds further global insecurity.

Yes sir, none of the Islamic fanatics had anything but love for us before March 2003.

The World Council of Churches calls upon the occupying powers led by the United States and Britain to quickly put an end to the occupation of Iraq, and allow the United Nations to manage the affairs of Iraq while seeking to build up and strengthen a system where true democracy, the rule of law, good governance and respect for all will prevail for the Iraqi people.

That's right. We should turn Iraq over to the tender mercies of the people who have made Kosovo a crime-ridden, welfare-dependent, corruption-riddled basket case; who pulled out of Baghdad at the first sign of hostility; who managed to turn the Oil-for-Food program into one of the world's biggest porcine feeding troughs; who put Libya in charge of a human rights commission; who put Baathist Iraq in charge of a disarmament commission, who allowed the Palestinian refugee camps to become armed hotbeds of terrorism, who...you get the picture.

The WCC hopes that we as a world would come to a new consciousness that would enable us all to see ourselves more as belonging to a vulnerable and interdependent global community in which we have a mandate to bear one another�s burdens and share in the sufferings of others.

New consciousness? Those of us with the albatross of being members of denominations that are part of the WCC would be happy with any consciousness from Geneva.