On the Anniversary of War: A Call for Public Debate

Prayer for Peace on the Third Anniversary of the War in Iraq March 16, 2006 By the Rev. William G. Sinkford I invite you to open your hearts and minds in the spirit of meditation and prayer. Spirit of life and of love, God of many names: We take time now to re-connect with the joy and the pain; the love and the hate; the hope and the despair that bind us together as one human family. We grieve for those who have died – and for their families, friends, and loved ones. May those who live on find solace and support. We grieve for those injured and their loved ones. May they find healing and strength. We grieve also our own failure to prevent such suffering; to prevent this violence between nations. We grieve the continuing loss of precious life. Therefore we pray for those who remain in harm's way: American and Iraqi, military and civilian, Sunni and Shia alike. May they find safety and hope. We pray for the leaders and people of Iraq. May they find peaceful means to end this conflict, may they reach common ground. And we pray for our nation's leaders and for ourselves. May we have the courage and conviction to honestly engage the difficult questions; to speak hard truths, to accept our responsibility to each other and the world. May we find the strength and vision to end the cycles of violence. May it be so. Amen. Print this prayer

A Letter from the Rev. William G. Sinkford

March 16, 2006

Dear Friends,

Sunday, March 19, marks the third anniversary of the war in Iraq. Sadly, even though our government's poor planning and countless mistakes (in which we have again and again chosen to rely on military might rather than diplomacy and true international cooperation) has left Iraq mired in sectarian violence, there has not yet been an honest and open debate in Congress about the war.

As I said in a letter to Congress  in December 2005, I believe that continuing to pursue a military-based strategy that has failed to produce peace – a strategy that has tragic human consequences almost every day – is ethically and religiously bankrupt. The time for a public debate is long overdue. I believe that we as a nation need to have a real conversation about what we have done – and failed to do – in Iraq , and where we should go from here. I'm pleased to say that momentum is building for this to happen: a bi-partisan group of Representatives have filed a petition that would force a debate. Their efforts are supported by a recent poll  which found that 72% of American troops serving in Iraq think the U.S. should exit the country within the next year, and more than one in four say the troops should leave immediately. Opponents of such a debate can no longer hide behind their smokescreen of patriotism, claiming that the only way to support our troops is to stand by the Administration and not to question. That position does a disservice to both our democratic principles and to the many thousands of Americans and Iraqis who are still in harm's way.

I was very moved by a recent letter to President Bush by Joseph W. DuRocher, a former commissioned officer and helicopter pilot in the U.S. Navy and a member of the First Unitarian Church in Orlando, FL. DuRocher cries with disbelief at what has been done in his name, concluding that he must "return the symbols of my years of service: the shoulder boards of my rank and my Naval Aviator's wings." His letter is a painful lament that should serve as a wake-up call to Unitarian Universalists and other people of faith and good will. We should not stay the course when the course is wrong. We need to have a real conversation about where we go from here.

You can help this happen by contacting your Members of Congress.

Friends, like many of you, I have felt great frustration in the last few years about my – and our – inability to bring about significant change in US policy on Iraq . The coming weeks are the best opportunity we've had in a long while to make real progress. I hope that you will join me in urging Congress to have an honest and open debate.

In Faith,

Rev. William G. Sinkford
President
Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations

UU Congregations Plan Action, Observances to Mark Third Anniversary of Iraq War

About the UUA's position on the War in Iraq:

• Based on numerous General Assembly resolutions about international conflicts and the United Nations, the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations is opposed to pre-emptive, unilateral military aggression, and has therefore opposed this war since its beginning. Subsequent General Assembly statements have called for "Congress to conduct open bi-partisan hearings to examine the moral and legal justification for the invasion of Iraq" (2003); the "broad internationalization of the reconstruction of Iraq with continued help from not only the United States but also the entire international community" (2004); and an "End to United States-sponsored Torture" (2005), among other actions.

Additional Information:
UUA Statements: The War Against Iraq

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