An Arab Christian’s View of a War on Iraq

I am entirely sympathetic with post September 11 American society. I was and continue to be appalled by the death of thousands of innocent Americans. I mourn the myriad ways in which the attack forever changed or ended patterns of living. I will never believe that the end justifies the means. The means must always be appropriate to the end. I reject on ideological and practical levels what happened on Sept 11. No one should pay the price of others’ mistakes.

The Church needs to develop a theology of protection that transcends politics to co-existence. From this context, I argue that the proposed war on Iraq is just a repetition of the common mistake that the ends justify the means. War on Iraq is not a solution. It will bring more devastation to an already devastated region. It will result in the deaths of thousands of innocent civilians already living under horrific conditions resulting from the Gulf War and the economic sanctions; it will impoverish people throughout the Middle East, it will exacerbate anti-American sentiment and terrorist attacks. And of course, by brandishing its power and portraying itself as exempt from international law , the US undermines it’s role as proponent of justice and peace and contradicts basic Christian faith principles to “turn the other cheek” and to “be still and know that I am God”. Consider the following:

Regardless of the sophistication of weapons used in an attack on Iraq, regardless of how well they are targeted, 1000s of innocents will be killed.
The economy of the Middle East will be devastated. The economy is already undergoing major recession and war will add more devastation. For example, Egypt has estimated it will lose $4 billion from tourism, and another $2 billion from commerce with Iraq and revenue from workers in Iraq.

The Suez Canal will be affected because insurance companies will raise insurance for ships using the canal.

On the Foreign Exchange, the ratio of the pound to the dollar will fall. This will impact the cost of goods imported from the West that are essential for life in Egypt. I believe the same will happen in Jordan, Libya, Syria and to some extent the Gulf as well.

Among Middle Easterners there is a huge concern that the main objective of America is oil - not weapons of mass destruction. War is not to secure America, it is to secure the profits of the oil companies and multinational corporations. People in the street ask why doesn’t America launch war on North Korea which has declared it has nuclear weapons. Arabs and Muslims see that the West is using a double standard. As it does with Israel and Palestine, so it is now doing with Iraq and Korea. One country is targeted by cruise missiles when it is not clear it owns nuclear weapons; a second country is not targeted when through its own admission it does own them.

It is certainly hard to reconcile these methods and results with a God who loves all his children and who disciplines and encourages them with endless patience. I support security of state including security of the USA. I believe that there are certain ways to stop Iraq from possessing chemical and nuclear weapons. These alternatives to war may take longer but the objective of destroying “weapons of mass destruction” can be achieved without loss of life, economic death, and provocation of terrorism which all feed a vicious cycle of violence.