Iraq and Region Update for March 19, 2008
Welcome to FCNL's Biweekly Iraq and Region Update of March 19, 2008
FCNL's regular Iraq and Region Update will not appear on Friday. The next Update will appear on April 4.
On the Fifth Anniversary of the War
As we at FCNL mark the fifth anniversary of the beginning of the Iraq war, we mourn anew the tens of thousands who have died because of the war. We grieve at the millions wounded, displaced from their homes, and the innumerable lost opportunities to meet human needs at home and abroad, as a result of this war. We lament the failure of our political system and our national culture thus far to bring about the policy change needed to end the war.
But we see hope in a growing recognition of a clear alternative to the present course. As Trudy Rubin, a Philadelphia Inquirer columnist with long years of experience in the Middle East, wrote last Sunday: "The only hope for a decent Iraq exit may lie with a new U.S. approach to the region, emphasizing tough diplomacy that draws Iraq's neighbors into a new regional security arrangement. An exit timeline would become part of those negotiations. But such talks would require the United States to broaden its dealings with Iran."
The way to peace in Iraq and the region requires that the U.S. talk with all of the countries in the region-including Iran and Syria- and with all of Iraq's political factions. These talks should be without preconditions, and the agenda should include Iraq, Iran's nuclear program, and Arab-Israeli peace.
This administration and all major presidential candidates have stated that deterring Iran is one of their primary objectives for keeping U.S. troops in Iraq. The next administration is unlikely to seek complete withdrawal from Iraq unless the U.S. and Iran reach a rapprochement. Inclusive diplomacy is the sea change in U.S. Middle East policy that the bipartisan Iraq Study Group called for more than a year ago.
A Growing Consensus
Earlier this month, hundreds of religious activists came to Washington for Ecumenical Advocacy Days, an event sponsored by more than forty national churches and church organizations. The theme of this year's gathering was "claiming a vision of true security." After sessions on the Middle East led by FCNL, participants met with their senators and representatives to urge them to follow the EAD call to "Support legislation requiring an inclusive, region-wide diplomatic offensive in the Middle East that includes Iran and Syria and addresses the war in Iraq, bilateral issues, and all fronts of the Arab-Israeli conflict." The specific ask was to support two pieces of legislation that would advance these goals, H.R. 3797 and H. Con. Res. 288.
In January, FCNL initiated a joint letter to Congress signed by fifteen national churches and organizations, also urging Congress to support the comprehensive regional diplomacy of H.R. 3797. In addition to FCNL and the American Friends Service Committee, those signing were:
- Church of the Brethren, Washington Office;
- Church Women United;
- Episcopal Church
- Evangelicals for Social Action
- Fellowship of Reconciliation
- Mennonite Central Committee
- National Council of Churches
- National Council of Jewish Women
- NETWORK, A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby
- Pax Christi USA
- Unitarian Universalist Association
- United Church of Christ, Justice and Witness Ministries
- United Methodist Church, General Board of Church and Society.
Build the Consensus
Do you know people who are active in the groups or denominations that signed this letter or who sponsored Ecumenical Advocacy Days?
Here are some ideas to get them involved in working for peace in Iraq and the Middle East.