February 4, 2003

The Honorable George W. Bush

President of the United States of America

The White House

Washington, D.C.  20500

Dear Mr. President:

As representatives of national churches and organizations in the United States with strong ties to the Middle East, we remain alarmed at the looming prospect of a U.S.-led war against Iraq.  We have been attentive to the debate among the American people and within our churches and will listen carefully to Secretary of State Powell’s address to the United Nations and the ensuing discussions within the Security Council. 

In the past and at present, the United Nations Security Council has provided the mandate for Iraq’s disarmament.  We continue to look to it for the critical decisions about Iraq’s compliance with applicable U.N. resolutions.  Even if Iraqi breaches of these resolutions are evident, we urge continuation and invigoration of the inspection regime as the most fitting course of action.

The threat posed by Iraq is best contained by the inspections, preventing any significant advance in the development, proliferation, and/or deployment of weapons of mass destruction.  As the recent Carnegie Endowment for International Peace study reported, the inspection process is far from being exhausted; indeed, it has barely begun.  Until military action is widely perceived in the international community as a necessary remedy, a U.S.-sponsored war would neither gain international approval nor widespread support from the American people.  As such, it could jeopardize the anti-terrorism efforts in which your Administration and others are engaged.

Under international law, pre-emptive war is permissible only with a clear demonstration of imminent threat and authorization by the U.N.  It has not been demonstrated that Iraq poses an imminent threat to the U.S., and many on the Security Council remain vocally opposed to war at this time.

The Iraqi leader has greatly abused his power and his people.  The Iraqi people deserve better.  They have already suffered enough through more than two decades of war and severe economic sanctions.  We believe that rather than liberating Iraq from tyranny, however, military action against the government of Saddam Hussein and the aftermath of war would bring increased suffering for multitudes of innocent people in Iraq and beyond.  We ask that you work diligently with other international and Iraqi leaders to pursue changes to Iraq’s governance through diplomatic means.  We encourage your leadership in the cause of human rights everywhere and ask that the promotion and protection of human rights, applied consistently across the Middle East, become the hallmark of your Administration.

In the last year, you have offered a roadmap for Israeli-Palestinian peace and have proposed steps toward economic, educational and political reform in the Middle East.  If these proposals were to become the central actions of your Administration in the region, they could help to bring an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, engender a new future for the entire Middle East, and would be a most effective defense against terrorism.

As commander-in-chief, you are faced with the awesome responsibility for the security of our great country and its people.  We are convinced that a U.S.-led war with Iraq, particularly if undertaken without UN Security Council approval, would intensify anti-American sentiment in many parts of the world and heighten the threat to Americans and American interests at home and abroad.