Dear Mr. President.
As your target date to begin U.S. troop withdrawals from Afghanistan approaches, we are compelled by the prophetic vision of just peace to speak. We represent a diversity of faith communities -- ranging from just war to pacifist traditions. As leaders of these communities, some of us initially supported the war in Afghanistan as a justified response to the September 11, 2001, attacks on New York City and Washington, D.C. Others opposed the war, believing there were better ways than military force to address the al Qaeda threat. Today, however, we are united in the belief that it is time to bring the U.S. war in Afghanistan to an end.
After nine years, what began as a response to an attack has become an open-ended war against a Taliban centric insurgency -- which itself is largely motivated to drive out foreign troops and has no designs beyond its own borders. The military operation has so far resulted in the deaths of over 2,500 Coalition troops, including 1,600 from the U.S. Estimates are that over 20,000 Afghan civilians have died. And yet, the security situation is deteriorating and Taliban influence is spreading. The military situation is at best a stalemate. Al Qaeda barely exists in Afghanistan, but it has metastasized into Pakistan and has established itself in Yemen, Somalia, and other places around the globe.
Relief and development aid, desperately needed after three decades of war, have been integrated into and are subservient to military operations. Civilian aid organizations that attempt to provide much-needed relief are often seen as part of the foreign military occupation and have faced increasing attacks. Additionally, this form of militarized aid has worked to undermine long term sustainability while proving ineffective in addressing immediate poverty concerns. As the faith community, we have experience doing this kind of work, and maintain relationships with partners on the ground. We see and hear the need for relief and development aid to be provided through these civilian aid organizations while untying it from a counterinsurgency strategy and involving and empowering local Afghan partners to the greatest extent possible.
Moreover, this type of aid is most effective -- both in terms of the development in Afghanistan, and the cost of the conflict. The past ten years have shown that we cannot broker peace in Afghanistan by military force; it is time to transition toward a plan that builds up civil society and provides economic alternatives for Afghans. At a time of economic turmoil, as we are presented with difficult financial and budgetary decisions at home, we have an opportunity to invest in aid that both supports the people of Afghanistan, and saves our country much needed funds.
We recognize that legitimate ethical and moral issues are at stake in Afghanistan -- U.S. national security, protecting the lives of Coalition servicemen and women, protecting Afghan civilians, defending the rights of Afghan women, supporting democracy and, of course, saving innocent lives from the inevitable death and destruction that accompany war. We humbly believe there is a better way than war to address these important issues.
What is needed now is a comprehensive package of interlocking arrangements to enhance security and stability. This alternative path is not without some risk, but it is preferable to the known dangers of war. As you said in December 2009, the U.S. should begin a responsible but accelerated withdrawal of troops, beginning with a significant number in July 2011 and continuing along a set timetable. This must be linked to a comprehensive security agreement, a regional multi-lateral diplomatic initiative, and increased public & private assistance for locally based economic and social development programs. We must commit to proactively share the costs of war, which have been borne disproportionately by the veterans of these wars, their families and thousands of Afghan civilians.
We reaffirm our religious hope for a world in which "they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more; but they shall all sit under their own vines and under their own fig trees, and no one shall make them afraid."
You remain in our prayers.
Respectfully,
Rev. Geoffrey A. Black
General Minister and President
United Church of Christ
Pastor Geoff Browning
Peacemaking Advocate
Presbytery of San Jose
Simone Campbell, SSS
Executive Director
NETWORK: A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby
Marie Dennis
Director, Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns
Co-President, Pax Christi International
Rev. Dr. Cheryl F. Dudley
President
Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America
Rev. Dr. David J. Fekete
Ecumenical Officer
Swedenborgian Churches of North America
Dr. Linda Gaither
Chair
Episcopal Peace Fellowship
Glen Gersmehl
National Coordinator
Lutheran Peace Fellowship
Diana Gibson
Christian Peace Witness
Evelyn Hanneman
Operations Coordinator
Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America
Dr. Robert Hanson
Chair of Peace Committee
Mt. Diablo Unitarian-Universalist Church
Rev. M. Linda Jaramillo
Executive Minister
United Church of Christ, Justice and Witness Ministries
Mark C. Johnson, Ph.D.
Executive Director
Fellowship of Reconciliation
Rev. Dr. Michael Kinnamon
General Secretary
National Council of Churches
Rev. Dr. Ken Brooker Langston
Director
Disciples Justice Action Network
Paul LaRue
Oregon-Idaho Chapter of the Methodist
Federation for Social Action
Bishop Chuck Leigh
Apostolic Catholic Church
Rev. John R. Long, DD
Retired Presbyterian Minister
Presbytery of Western New York
Rev. Dr. Dale E. Luffman
Ecumenical and Interfaith Officer
Community of Christ
The Rev. Dr. Betsy Miller
President, Provincial Elders' Conference
Moravian Church, Northern Province
Douglas Morgan
Director
Adventist Peace Fellowship
Mr. Stanley Noffsinger
General Secretary
Church of the Brethren
Rev. Gradye Parsons
General Assembly Stated Clerk
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
The Rev. Nathaniel W. Pierce
American Secretary
Anglican Pacifist Fellowship
Diane Randall
Executive Secretary
Friends Committee on National Legislation
Dave Robinson
Executive Director
Pax Christi USA
Rachelle Lyndaker Schlabach
Director
Mennonite Central Committee US, Washington Office
Sandy Sorensen
Director
United Church of Christ, Justice and Witness Ministries
Dr. Sayyid M. Syeed,
National Director
Office for Interfaith & Community Alliances, Islamic Society of North America
Haris Tarin
Director, Washington Office
Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC)
Eda Uca-Dorn
Director
Hosanna! People's Seminary
Rick Ufford-Chase
Executive Director
Presbyterian Peace Fellowship
Stephen M. Veazey
President
Community of Christ
Jim Wallis
President and Chief Executive Officer
Sojourners
Rev. Dr. Sharon Watkins
General Minister and President
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
Rev. Dr. Craig M. Watts
Co-Moderator Disciples Peace Fellowship
Rabbi Simkha Y. Weintraub, LCSW
James E. Winkler
General Secretary
General Board of Church and Society, The United Methodist Church
Visit the Sojourners website for more information.
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The reality is that we can not afford to throw good money toward war or the aid money to that nation without somekind of viable return.
When Sec of State Powell went to Pakistan he said the only thing Pakistan wanted to talk about was "when were the jobs coming" . Congress then funded trips for many American company managers to make deals with Pakistan .
The exporting of American telemarketing jobs was all that Congress could think of to export at the time so thanks to Congress , thousands more Americans saw their means to earn a living evaporate .
This is an open political letter from a gang motivated by politics and ego , and not worth the paper it was written on .
if these charitable groups want to band together to provide aid in the faith tradition which they choose to identify that is great.
but no government aid---> the likelihood that giving them money to change a culture that throws acid on girls attending school, practices beheading, and stones adulterers in front of crowds in stadiums .... is just.... well a bet. Not a good one.
If these religious leaders want to lead they should, with their own $. Prove us skeptics wrong, sell your message to your flocks and the people.
but if they really practiced what they preached there would be very little poverty in the
world. and when they do give food to the starving it's always accompanied with a sermon.
actively testing our notions, of what is actually going on here. If the Taliban and Western leaders both believe that they have in their possession cogent philosophies for the protection of humankind, then why not allow us all to participate in the investigation of those ideologies?
It may be that underneath a superficial veneer of historical conditioning, there exists a unity of purpose. We may quickly discover such a reality, if we will but venture deeper. And just for one moment, choose to mine minds in preference to merely digging graves.