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Church of England bishops warn against war in Iraq
2003-007-1
1/15/2003
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[Episcopal News Service]
Last October the bishops of the Church of England told a government committee that, while military action can sometimes be justified as a last resort to enforce United Nations resolutions, to undertake a preventative war against Iraq at this juncture would be to lower the threshold for war unacceptably.
At its recent meeting in Leeds, the bishops issued a statement January 14 that said, 'We believe that the Government's stated policy of disarming Iraq of its weapons of mass destruction is best pursued by facilitating and strengthening the work of UN weapons inspectors. It is crucial that this process be allowed to run its course. To launch military action while there remains the potential to secure a peaceful resolution would be ill-judged and premature.'
The bishops also said that they were not yet convinced that 'a conclusive case' has been made in favor of military action. 'We do not believe the evidence presented to date suggests a clear link exists between Iraq and Al Qaeda or that Iraq poses an imminent threat to international security' and therefore 'military action could not be morally justified.'
The statement called on Iraq to 'present credible evidence to support its claim that it does not possess weapons of mass destruction.' It also called on the international community 'to provide the basis for a lasting and just peace in the region by taking all necessary steps to revitalise the Middle East Peace Process, based on the twin principles of a secure Israel and a viable Palestinian state.'
The bishops urged the government and media 'to avoid the use of language or rhetoric which might cast this crisis in religious terms or contribute to extremist and exclusivist attitudes.'
(Full text of the statement is available on the Anglican Communion News Service Web site.)
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