apologise for the Iraq war?
Alan in the comments points out this article:
“Church of England bishops are calling for Christian leaders to apologize publicly, at a gathering attended by senior Muslims, for the war in Iraq.
Acknowledging that the British government is unlikely to apologize for the “gravely mistaken” war, the bishops suggest that churches should do so by making a “public act of institutional repentance.”
They are not calling for a troop withdrawal now, however, saying the troops should remain until there is a secure Iraqi regime in place.
In a 101-page document released Monday, a working group of four bishops examines ways in which the church — England’s officially established church and the “mother” body of the world’s Anglicans — can play a part in combating the threat of terrorism…..
he war on Iraq, they say, appeared to have been executed “as much for reasons of American national interest as it was for the well-being of the Iraqi people.”And looking beyond Iraq, the bishops also argue for a more flexible approach by the U.S. and European Union over Iran’s nuclear program.
In a preface, one of the four authors, Bishop of Oxford Richard Harries, writes that for many people in the world today, “It is not terrorism, but American foreign policy and what they perceive as American expansionism which constitutes the major threat to peace.”
Like all major powers in history, he says, America seeks to expand economic, political and military influence.
“What distinguishes it from many other empires in history is its strong sense of moral righteousness. In this there is both sincere conviction and dangerous illusion,” Harries says.
“This sense of moral righteousness is fed by the major influence of the ‘Christian Right’ on present United States policy.”
Read the full article here
Anyone know where the full report is?
June 29th, 2007 at 12:50 pm
That’s another factor as well Bec.
I think posting where there is some intention of either expressing an opinion or making a contribution whether tongue-in-cheek or not is actually quite exposing, and the anonymity factor quite limited.
I mean if you say something online there could be hundreds or thousands or people reading, and a number of whom might pick the short comings or holes in any comments. That can be pretty challenging at times. I guess it depends a bit on what mindset you bring to this and as always who the person is.
I can remember some exchanges on here that if they face to face there would have been blood on the floor. I guess it depends whether people participate to be right, learn or wind other people up. Sometimes you can do all three at once
Cheers
MN
June 29th, 2007 at 1:58 pm
or we participate because we have no lives
June 29th, 2007 at 3:56 pm
shhhh….I resemble that…
June 29th, 2007 at 4:43 pm
Judging by my calendar and the hours I’ve been keeping, I have a life. I’m just a chronic procrastinator… :bangs head:
June 29th, 2007 at 5:15 pm
lol
June 29th, 2007 at 5:57 pm
I wrote that while finishing a report due by 5pm. It’s now nearly 6pm and I still haven’t finished it. Case in point!!
…Mind you, I also received it 3 days late, so I figure that’s a half decent excuse :LOL:
July 1st, 2007 at 7:20 pm
Trying to get caught up on this thread because I wanted to add something incisive and intelligent but brain is befuddled - am pregnant again and too tired to concentrate! Maybe should go offline for next 8 months.
did want to ask: was one of the arguments that people who are Christians shouldn’t work for the army? Or am I confused? I know I certainly couldn’t work for army. but have many Christians freinds who do…mind you they’re not what you’d call deep thinkers.
July 2nd, 2007 at 9:26 am
Congrats Emma!!!!!!
Yes, that was basically Greg’s argument, and that’s what I was responding to. I would personally avoid working for Defence in any capacity, but that doesn’t mean that I discount the possibility that God might call some people to work there (or, at the very least, that some people might FEEL that God has called them to work there).
July 4th, 2007 at 4:59 pm
Hey bec thanks
Yeah I couldn’t work for defence either…but I’m so carful these days about saying what a Christian should and shouldn’y do…too many years of being super-judgemental about all the wrong things (eg tithing)
July 14th, 2007 at 11:03 pm
Watch this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHYs4UKKIlM The Us and it’s allies have a lot to answer for
July 16th, 2007 at 3:02 am
“A corporal testifying in a court-martial said Marines in his unit began routinely beating Iraqis after officers ordered them to “crank up the violence level.”
Cpl. Trent D. Thomas faces murder charges after witnesses alleged he shot a 52-year-old Iraqi man.
Cpl. Saul H. Lopezromo testified Saturday at the murder trial of Cpl. Trent D. Thomas.
“We were told to crank up the violence level,” said Lopezromo, testifying for the defense.
When a juror asked for further explanation, Lopezromo said: “We beat people, sir.”
Within weeks of allegedly being scolded, seven Marines and a Navy corpsman went out late one night to find and kill a suspected insurgent in the village of Hamdaniya near the Abu Ghraib prison. The Marines and corpsman were from 2nd Platoon, Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Regiment.
Lopezromo said the suspected insurgent was known to his neighbors as the “prince of jihad,” and had been arrested several times and later released by the Iraqi legal system.
Unable to find him, the Marines and corpsman dragged another man from his house, fatally shot him, and then planted an AK-47 assault rifle near the body to make it appear he had been killed in a shootout, according to court testimony.
Four Marines and the corpsman, initially charged with murder in the April 2006 killing, have pleaded guilty to reduced charges and been given jail sentences ranging from 10 months to eight years. Thomas, 25, from St. Louis, Missouri, pleaded guilty but withdrew his plea and is the first defendant to go to court-martial.
Lopezromo, who was not part of the squad on its late-night mission, said he saw nothing wrong with what Thomas did.
“I don’t see it as an execution, sir,” he told the judge. “I see it as killing the enemy.”
He said Marines consider all Iraqi men part of the insurgency.
Lopezromo and two other Marines were charged in August with assaulting an Iraqi two weeks before the killing that led to charges against Thomas and the others. Charges against all three were later dropped.
Thomas’ attorneys have said he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury from his combat duty in Falluja in 2004. They have argued that Thomas believed he was following a lawful order to get tougher with suspected insurgents.
Prosecution witnesses testified that Thomas shot the 52-year-old man at point-blank range after he had already been shot by other Marines and was lying on the ground.
Lopezromo said a procedure called “dead-checking” was routine. If Marines entered a house where a man was wounded, instead of checking to see whether he needed medical aid, they shot him to make sure he was dead, he testified.
“If somebody is worth shooting once, they’re worth shooting twice,” he said.
The jury is composed of three officers and six enlisted personnel, all of whom have served in Iraq. The trial was set to resume Monday.”
From http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/law/07/15/marines.iraq.ap/index.html