Devon DickTHE RULE of the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq under the leadership of American Pro-consul Paul Bremer has ended.
It is therefore, appropriate to evaluate the action of the President of the USA, George Bush, Prime Minister of Britain, Tony Blair and the coalition of the willing in their decision to engage in a pre-emptive strike in invading and occupying Iraq versus some church leaders who produced a document months before the invasion entitled 'An alternative to War for defeating Saddam Hussein'.
LATEST AMERICAN POLL
Were Bush and company right or were the church leaders right? The latest American poll that surveyed Americans, show that a majority of Americans feel that it was wrong to invade Iraq and a majority feels less safe since the occupation of Iraq. But poll numbers can change. It is therefore good to re-examine what these prophets of God said almost two years ago.
Were they false prophets or did Bush hear from God? It is good to investigate the alternative not followed, the road not taken to Baghdad.
The plan that was drafted was supported by John Chane, Bishop of Washington D.C., Clifton Kirkpatrick, of the Presbyterian Church USA; Melvin Talbert, of the Methodist Council of Bishops, Dan Weiss, Past General Secretary of the American Baptist Churches (USA) and Jim Wallis, Editor-in-Chief of Sojourners. They met with Tony Blair and Secretary of State for International Develop-ment, Clare Short, on February 18, 2003 and outlined a six- point plan, which was ignored by Blair but obviously convinced Clare Short. Short resigned after Britain participated in the invasion and occupation of Iraq.
The Church leaders warned of the unpredictable and potentially disastrous consequences of war; massive civilian casualties, a precedent for pre-emptive war, further destabilisation of the Middle East, and a fuelling of more terrorism.
PROPHETIC STATEMENT
What a prophetic statement! The world has witnessed the disastrous consequences of war, greater instability in the Middle East and Iraq now becoming a magnet for suicide bombers. Last Saturday, an article in the UKs Daily Mail by a sympathetic columnist on the invasion claimed that 10,000 civilians have been killed in Baghdad alone. Another British newspaper claims that the casualty toll of Iraqis was 16,000.
The church leaders were all for disarming Saddam and they were aware of the danger of terrorism and weapons of mass destruction. They said, "The potential nexus between weapons of mass destruction and terrorism is the leading security issue today".
However, they did not believe that war was the solution because war would be "a devastating attack on the people of Iraq". Instead, they offered another route to Baghdad that was not taken.
SYMPATHY FOR SADDAM
The first point the church leaders made was to remove Saddam Hussein and the Baath party from power. They claimed that nobody in the West or Arab world has any sympathy for Saddam but everybody has sympathy for the Iraqi people who have suffered greatly from war, a decade of sanctions and a corrupt and violent regime of Saddam. So they asked that Saddam be targeted while protecting the people. The Church leaders proposed that Saddam be tried by an International Tribunal, which has proven effective in the past. International Tribunals have discredited and destroyed regimes in Yugoslavia and Rwanda.
The Church leaders also called for all UN resolutions to be enforced and inspections intensified. In addition, the world community should strengthen the arms embargo against the government of Saddam.
The third aspect of the alternative to war was to foster democracy in Iraq through the agency of the UN because according to them, "An American viceroy in an occupied Iraq is the wrong solution". The church leaders were on the ball long before America opinion has turned against the war and long before American decided to transfer power to appointed persons.
HUMANITARIAN EFFORT
The other suggestions included organising a massive humanitarian effort for the people of Iraq to alleviate the suffering of the Iraqi people. Things have gotten worse since then, that a UK Conservative daily newspaper said that people are now saying that they were safer under Saddam.
Finally, these broad-based church leaders asked Blair and company to sustain the war on terrorism but prophetically warned that, "a war against Iraq will fuel anti-American animosity in the Arab world, where co-operation in the war on terror is most needed".
The Church leaders counsel should have been heeded. The invasion and occupation of Iraq was a colossal mistake that could have been prevented.
Jamaica and a coalition of the wise must state categorically that the wrong road was taken and US, UK and the Coalition of the willing must admit their errors and pledge never to err in this way again.
Devon Dick is pastor of the Boulevard Baptist Church and author, 2004 Edition Rebellion to Riot: The Jamaican Church in Nation Building.
