US must Acknowledge Iraq War was “Unwise”, says Presbyterian Head
The head of the largest Presbyterian denomination wrote a letter to President Bush, asking him to take alternate measures in securing the safety of the Iraqi people and “acknowledge now that the war launched last year has been unwise.
The head of the largest Presbyterian denomination in the United States wrote a letter to President George W. Bush, asking him to take alternate measures in securing the safety of the Iraqi people, on Dec. 10, 2004. Rev. Clifton Kirkpatrick’s letter comes at a time of heightened tension for the minority Christians living in the war-torn nation; Churches have been vandalized, looted and burned by terrorists in several instances over the weeks leading up to the first democratic election.
“We have been watching with grave concern the chaotic situation in Iraq as it has continued to worsen since you declared last April that the war had ended,” Kirkpatrick, the PC(USA) stated clerk wrote.
Kirkpatrick’s letter specifically addressed the recent attack on the Evangelical Church of Mosul - one of the few PC(USA)-related churches in Iraq.
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“Several churches have been attacked, some during Sunday worship. We have now received word from one of our own partner congregations, the Evangelical Church of Mosul, that this church has been horribly vandalized – what robbers could not take, they destroyed,” the letter read.
Kirkpatrick warned that “such attacks and the deep fear they have generated” have caused numerous speculations that “Iraq will be immanently devoid of Christian presence altogether.” He also implied that the violence was in part due to the launch of Operation Iraqi Freedom, saying, “In a part of the world where Christians lived in relative peace and security with their majority Muslim neighbors prior to the U.S. invasion, this is a great tragedy.”
At that light, Kirkpatrick urged President Bush – and the United States – to “have the moral courage to acknowledge now that the war it has launched last year has been unwise.”
“We call on you, Mr. President, to alter the course of your policy and to take swift steps to bring about the necessary transformation to which all the people of Iraq aspire, beginning with giving your immediate attention to the security situation for all Iraqi citizens,” Kirkpatrick wrote.
Meanwhile, in a separate letter dated Dec. 13, Kirkpatrick offered his condolences and comfort to the congregation in Mosul that had been attacked.
Kirkpatrick began by saying he was distressed from hearing “about the break-in in your church and about the great loss and damage it caused.”
According to an e-mail sent by pastor of the Evangelical Church in Mosul, vandals destroyed the church’s Sunday’s school classroom, a boardroom, and a clinic for the needy.
Kirkpatrick told the Mosul pastor that the “horrible damage and loss suffered” by the church has prompted him to write “President George W. Bush and appeal to him to seek an alternative approach to handling the situation in Iraq.”
Offering the comfort of the verse in the book of Joshua, “I will never forget nor forsake you,” Kirkpatrick encouraged the Mosul congregation to “continue your witness to be the love of God among your neighbors.”
“Please be assured that as we pray for you always, we pray too for our sisters and brothers of the other beloved Evangelical churches in Kirkuk, Baghdad and Basrah, with whom we share the mutual bonds of affection, care and support, as well as your neighbors of the other Christian denominations and other faith communities,” he concluded.
According to the Presbyterian News Service, there are currently five Presbyterian churches in Iraq with a new congregation underway in Baghdad.
The number of church bombings in Iraq skyrocketed over the past months. Since August, there were at least one attack made on church every month.
In August, terrorists bombed four churches in Baghdad and one in Mosul, killing at least 12 Christians and forcing thousands more to flee. In October, two more churches were bombed in Baghdad, killing eight more people, and in November, a car bomber attacked police guarding the hospital where the wounded were taken. In early December, two churches in Mosul were bombed.
Statistics show there are currently 650,000 Christians total in the Muslim-majority nation. However, the number is likely to have contracted because of the exodus of more than 40,000 Christians since the U.S. launched Operation Iraqi Freedom last year.
The following is the full text of Clifton Kirkpatrick’s letter to President Bush, as released by the Presbyterian News Service:
December 10, 2004
Dear Mr. President:
I write on behalf of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), the all-inclusive governing body of this denomination of some 2.5 million American Christians, who hold partnership relations with close to two-hundred reformed, evangelical and ecumenical churches and church bodies in eighty-five countries around the world. Our General Assembly has spoken in successive years expressing concern for the people of Iraq, one of the countries where we have had a historic relationship with its Evangelical (Presbyterian) Church for more than a century and a half, and a significant working relationship with other Christian churches (Chaldean Catholic, and Arab, Assyrian and Armenian Orthodox) for decades.
We have been watching with grave concern the chaotic situation in Iraq as it has continued to worsen since you declared last April that the war had ended. The high death toll of our own American troops and of Iraqi civilians, the kidnapping of women, children, national and foreign civilian workers, diplomats and others, horrific beheadings, destruction of entire communities, and deplorable humanitarian conditions have been devastating to the people of Iraq.
Several churches have been attacked, some during Sunday worship. We have now received word from one of our own partner congregations, the Evangelical Church of Mosul, that this church has been horribly vandalized – what robbers could not take, they destroyed. Such attacks and the deep fear they have generated, plus the growing sense among the Christians of Iraq that the prospects of meaningful representation in a new government are exceedingly gloomy, have caused thousands of them to flee the country. Many speak, with great lament, of an Iraq that will be immanently devoid of Christian presence altogether. In a part of the world where Christians lived in relative peace and security with their majority Muslim neighbors prior to the U.S. invasion, this is a great tragedy.
We fear for Iraq, and for its people, both now and in the future. We also feel that the United States, the present occupying military power, should be held responsible for both the present and the future. For the present, under international conventions, it has the obligation to provide security for the civilian population. This is not happening, Mr. President. As for the sake of the future of that country and its entire people, the United States should have the moral courage to acknowledge now that the war it has launched last year has been unwise, and to turn to the United Nations vigorously seeking its immediate intervention, to restore law, order, civility and peace and to complete the work of creating a viable, constitutional, fully representative democracy.
We call on you, Mr. President, to alter the course of your policy and to take swift steps to bring about the necessary transformation to which all the people of Iraq aspire, beginning with giving your immediate attention to the security situation for all Iraqi citizens.
You can be assured of our constant prayers that you may be granted the required wisdom and courage to face the urgency of choosing a different path, recognizing that the memory of history will honor those who, with humility, seek the ways of peace.
The following is Clifton Kirkpatrick’s letter to Yousif Al-Saka, general secretary of the Evangelical Presbyterian Assembly of Churches of Iraq:
December 13, 2004
Dear Dr. Mazen and the Mosul Congregation:
Warm Christian greetings from your sisters and brothers of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
It was with great distress that we received word from our colleague, the Rev. Linda Knieriemen, of the Westminster Presbyterian Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan, about the break-in in your church, and about the great loss and damage it caused. Indeed, we feel a deep pain when we watch the news every day, and learn about the horrors endured by the Iraqi people throughout your country. In our own helplessness, our troubled spirits turn to the Living God and cry for help, that the violence and destruction may cease, and that peace, calm and stability might begin to flow. Our hearts turn to you and hold you close.
The horrible damage and loss suffered by your church has prompted us to write to President George W. Bush and appeal to him to seek an alternative approach to handling the situation in Iraq. We are gravely concerned for our Christian brothers and sisters who are fleeing the homeland in great numbers, but also for the safety, security and stability of the entire country. For it has not been long ago that Christians lived side by side with their Muslim neighbors in harmony and peace. Our prayer now is that the peace of God that passes all understanding keep you firm and strong in your faith, to experience anew the powerful words of the divine promise “I will never forget nor forsake you;” to continue your witness to the love of God among your neighbors, and to preserve you in the safe arms of the God of all mercy and compassion.
Please be assured that as we pray for you always, we pray too for our sisters and brothers of the other beloved Evangelical churches in Kirkuk, Baghdad and Basrah, with whom we share the mutual bonds of affection, care and support, as well as your neighbors of the other Christian denominations and other faith communities. May the grace, mercy and peace of God prevail in your hearts and in your land.
