Editorial: No cause for war

Sydney
19 January

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Editorial: No cause for war

If we are truly Christians then we must act as such in hard times, as well as good. And hard times are upon us now in respect of the pressure the US Bush administration is putting on Iraq with the build-up of troops and weapons of war on that country's borders.

We need to view this confusing and growing pressure through Christian eyes. Fortunately, we have an intellectual tool we can use to help us here: the Catholic 'just war' theory.

This grew out of Catholic concern about how one reconciles the commandment not to kill with the need to protect the innocent against violence. During the Cold War the theory expanded to take into account a situation where both the US and the Soviet Union had weapons that could obliterate both sides if used. The result was a stalemate. Some 40 countries, including Iraq and Britain, have since developed chemical and biological weapons of mass destruction.

The US contends that such weapons in the hands of Saddam Hussein represent such a threat that a pre-emptive strike is called for. But, while it is true that Iraq is aggressive - it has attacked Iran and Kuwait in recent times - it should be remembered that the war with Iran also had US support. And, while Iraq has used chemical weapons twice already - against Iran and against its own Kurdish minority - the situation has not changed significantly in recent times.

There is no real evidence that Iraq still has these weapons; it claims to have destroyed them. And the UN inspection team, which has been extensively surveying the country from the air as well as on the ground, has yet to find any.

This is not reason enough for us to support a war. And that is before we even start to consider the humanitarian arguments against military action - wanton destruction of innocent civilian lives and homes being paramount among them.

POPE OF PEACE

If we as Christians need any more convincing that the path of peace is the one to follow, we need only look to the example of Pope John Paul II, our Man of the Year, whose portrait graces our first front page of the New Year.

He is the pope of peace, living the Word of the Prince of Peace. He inspired the world's religious leaders last year to join him on a peace train to Assisi to pray for an end to global violence in a World Day of Prayer for Peace.

He made it clear that prayer was important and was not something we should hide away from the world. It is also something we might indulge in now, praying for peace in Iraq and that it might enter troubled and angry American hearts.