More Gulf Comments
It was with dismay that I heard the news, at around midnight, that Allied forces had commenced bombing of positions in Kuwait and Iraq. The obvious jingoistic glee of some of the reporters did little to obviate this feeling. Less than a decade after the Falklands War, Britain had again taken arms in anger. The notion of the United Kingdom as a Christian country must surely now be abandoned.
Far be it from me to level the charge of hypocrisy against anyone (having a large plank of this sort in my own eye!), least of all the United States of America, but when I heard President Bush say, in his broadcast to his people, “… while we talked peace, Saddam dug in his heels and prepared for war …,” I did wonder for a moment what all those Allied troops and bombers had been up to in Saudi Arabia if not preparing for war.
The Allies, it was claimed, had started to enforce the United Nations Security Council Resolution demanding the withdrawal of Iraqi troops from Kuwait, to restore the rightful government of Kuwait and rid the world of a dangerous man who posed a serious threat to world peace.
I find it hard to believe that this conflict is being fought to support the authority of the UN. If this was the case, why has no action whatsoever been taken to enforce other Security Council Resolutions, for example those demanding the immediate withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Occupied Territories (which have been around for decades!)? And why then have the Allies “exceeded their brief” and attacked Iraq directly, with the unhidden intention of removing Saddam Hussein? (None of the Security Council Resolution say anything about attacking Iraq — only the removal of Iraqi troops from Kuwait.) And why have there been no further meetings of the Security Council to debate the war being fought in its name since the deadline ran out?
The United Nations was set up to promote peace, and prevent another World War. In supporting the use of arms to crush a “legitimate leader of a sovereign state” and his regime, it has, in my opinion, proved its failure.
I would not attempt to argue that Saddam Hussein’s record is anywhere near acceptable, particularly in the areas of human rights and his treatment of the Kurds, nor would I condone the invasion of one sovereign state by another. The United States’ record on these issues is also more than a little dubious — for example the sponsoring of the most ghastly regimes in Central and Southern America (which continues still) and the Vietnam War. Incidentally, one of the US’s bases which is being used in the “liberation of Kuwait” is on an Island called Diego Garcia. This island was invaded by the US and converted to a strategic military base, the indigenous population being deported to a nearby island where they now live in abject poverty as they are unable to find work there, and have not the money to move from where they were dumped. Sound familiar? Surely not …
But the Emir of Kuwait and his regime were far from heroes (they are certainly not democratically elected leaders of their people) — and there are many other dictators in the world with equally poor records on torture and human rights as Saddam Hussein — just read any copy of Amnesty International’s latest magazine.
Some will argue that, since our Government has decided we should go to war, and heeding Paul’s exhortations to submit to Earthly authorities, we should support the war with all our energy. One thing that needs to be borne in mind is Paul’s position at the time he wrote the epistle — in jail, for open, peaceful defiance of the Roman authorities. To submit to an authority does not necessitate agreement with its every edict. All authorities give at least two choices: obey the law, or suffer the consequences. If a law is unjust, it should be opposed, and not obeyed. The consequences meted out by the authority should not be dodged — that would be a refusal to submit to the authority.
If I were conscripted, I would tell my parents (and probably friends as well) my intended course of action and walk to the nearest police station and turn myself in for refusing the draft. Peaceful civil disobedience does not mean refusal to submit to authority — and those who doubt the efficacy of such methods need only to look to the likes of Ghandhi, Martin Luther King and his followers and, dare I say it, the early disciples?
Some may say that the instruction of those in Government, being better suited to decision-making, should guide them as to their course of action. Do you really want to trust the judgement of a Government that brought you such well-conceived ideas as student loans, the poll tax, homelessness, economic recession with its attendant rising unemployment and inflation, reform of the public house system (to which all small brewers, for whose benefit the legislation was intended, were unanimously opposed) and a judiciary packed with legal luminaries like Lord Denning?
That said, it is important not to dismiss any opinion out of hand — especially that of the Government. Is it too much to ask, though, that you do a little thinking for yourself? This Government was democractically elected — so you should let it know when you disagree with any course it takes!
This conflict will almost undoubtedly drag on for months and months. The only way it will stop is when the people of the West begin to count the cost — in environmental, monetary and, above all, human terms. As the Allied bodycount rises, the peace movement will gain support until eventually the Governments involved will be forced to withdraw and seek a long-lasting, peaceful, negotiated settlement for the entire Arab world. Why must so many die first? Why must so many young people go through the horror of war and be mutilated physically and emotionally for the rest of their lives? Why must so much damage be done to the environment in the Gulf? (At the time of writing, the oil slick in the Gulf has grown and is now the biggest in history — and there is no talk of a concerted worldwide effort to contain it.) This surely cannot be what God intends his people to do.
The peace movement is not getting Saddam Hussein out of Kuwait. But it is advocating a lasting, peacful settlement of the conflicts in the Middle East. Replacing one bully with another bigger one will not further justice, peace and love in the world. It just pulls us further from the Kingdom of God. Sin cannot be defeated by more sinning! Sin can only be defeated by sinlessness — Jesus died, sinless, to defeat sin for ever. But we must recognise that we “crucify Christ daily” by continuing to sin, and make every effort to avoid disobeying God, and follow the perfect example of that well-known and outspoken radical (notorious?) proponent of universal love, our Saviour, Jesus.
Jesus said, “Love one another, as I have loved you.” Yes, he chastised his disciples when they did wrong — but he never took arms against them.
The Committee to Stop War in the Gulf can be contacted via the Peace Centre on Clifford Street, opposite Pizza Hut, or by the stall run regularly in Parliament Street.