Good Afternoon!  Thank you for the opportunity to share some brief thoughts and reflections with you today.

Do you realize that it has now been almost 28 months since President Bush issued his fictional statement aboard the aircraft carrier “Mission Accomplished” and all major combat operations in Iraq have ended.

The truth is that combat operations have gone so long that there is now even a TV show called “Over There” that provides a fictional account of the ongoing war in Iraq.

I have never seen this fictional show and I understand that President Bush does not watch it either.

By why should President Bush watch this fictional show on Iraq when he gets a fictional account of the war in Iraq every day from Donald Rumsfeld.

People of faith are concerned about this war.

The Rev. Charles Gibbs, Executive Director of the United Religions Initiative, an organization that includes 88 faith traditions and indigenous tribes in 60 countries in the world when he heard that I would be speaking at this event sent a message that I would like to share a few excerpts from.

Rev. Gibbs states:

It is long past time to end an immoral war that should never have begun,

a preemptive war launched under false pretense, with an ever shifting

rationale.

The only thing clear about the war in Iraq is its catastrophic cost. 

Estimates say that no fewer than 10,000 and perhaps over 100,000 Iraqi

civilians have been killed. 

Nearly 2,000 American troops have been killed, not to mention Iraqi

troops and security forces. 

The damage to Iraq's infrastructure has been incalculable, as has the

attendant environmental damage. 

The moral authority of United States has been squandered. 

Terrorism is on the rise and the war in Iraq has become both a prime

recruiting tool and a premiere training ground for terrorists. 

As if this weren't tragic enough, we have spent nearly $200 billion to

create this disaster.  ....  

(Rev. Gibbs continues later in his message) 

it is long past time to stop waging this war and begin building a just

and sustainable peace through coalition building and environmentally

conscious economic development that strengthens local communities around

the world while addressing great human need.

The war in Iraq has divided our country and the world. While it presents

an enormous challenge, building a just and sustainable peace for all is

a cause around which people of all faiths all over the world can and

must unite.

The National Council of Christian Churches, who I had the privilege of representing at the G8 Summit last month issued a statement titled “A Call To Speak Out on the 4th of July this year.

This statement reads in part:

“Today in Iraq a cruel dictator has been deposed, yet the suffering of the Iraqi people continues.  Mandated elections have been held, yet the future of Iraq remains as uncertain as ever.  

Day by day the cost of this war for the United States, for Iraq, for peace grows clearer.  No weapons of mass destruction have been found; no link to the attacks on September 11, 2001 has been shown.  It has become clear that the rationale for invasion was at best a tragic mistake, at worst a clever deception.

As people of faith, we believe in the transcendent sovereignty and love of God for creation, and that the responsibility of human beings is thus to pursue justice and peace for all.  We also believe that, as the biblical prophets of old, who in faithfulness to God spoke out to a people and a nation they loved, in humility before God we too are to speak to a land and people we love.  As religious leaders we invite others who share our affections and dismay to recognize the time has come to speak out.

Will you join me in saying No!

to leaders who have sent many honorable sons and daughters to fight a dishonorable war;  We say NO!

to the violence that has cost about two thousand American lives, left thousands grievously injured, and killed untold numbers of Iraqis whose deaths we are unwilling to acknowledge or count; We Say NO!

to the abuse of prisoners that has shamed our nation and damaged our reputation throughout the world;  We say NO!

to the price tag for this war that has rendered our federal budget incapable of adequately caring for the poorest of our own citizens;   We Say NO!

and, to theologies that demonize other nations and religions while arrogantly claiming righteousness for ourselves as if we share no complicity in human evil.  We Say NO!

We are also a people that have many things to say YES! too.

to foreign policies that seek justice rather than domination, compassion rather than control;  We say YES!

to an early fixed timetable for the withdrawal of United States troops and the establishment of a credible multinational peacekeeping force;  We say YES!

to the honoring of human rights even for our enemies and for a restoration of our reputation as a people committed to the rule of law;  We say YES!

to spending and taxing priorities that put the poor first, providing health care, housing, employment, and quality education for all, not just the few;  We say YES!

and, to a restoration of truth telling in the public square and to "last resort" rather than "first strike" as the criterion for the use of force to restrain evil.  We say YES!”

The statement goes on to say that “we acknowledge that the freedom promised in the toppling of a dictator has been replaced by the humiliation of occupation and the violence of a civil war. The sacrifice of brave men and women has been used to serve policies that have diminished our nation's prestige and our capacity to be agents of justice in the world.”

You know that President Bush said we went to Iraq to look for Weapons of Mass Destruction.   

He would not have to look very hard at both in the U.S.  and around the world, particularly in Africa, to see that poverty is a weapon of mass destruction (WMD’s) and that for a small fraction of the cost of searching for nonexistent WMD’s in Iraq we could eliminate the real WMD of poverty in the world.

President Bush has also stated that the terrorists hate freedom and as Jay Leno has observed President Bush has reduced our freedoms through the Patriot act, apparently so we will be less of a target to the Terrorists.

Ben Franklin said it this way.

"Anyone who trades liberty for security deserves neither liberty nor security”

President Bush says we can’t afford to address issues like global warming because it might hurt our economy but he seems to have no concern about a war that is devastating our economy.

We don’t need a war that searches for fictitious weapons of mass destruction while ignoring real weapons of mass destruction such as global warming, poverty, hunger, and AIDS

We don’t need a war that takes away our liberty to supposedly protect our freedom.

We don’t need a war that is unjust and immoral to continue just because the President made a huge mistake.

Let’s work together to get the U.S. out of Iraq and elect a Congress who have the real interests of the American people in mind, who will protect our liberties, strengthen our economy, protect our environment and who will end the real weapons of mass destruction such as global warming, hunger and poverty.

Thank you. 

Good Afternoon!  Thank you for the opportunity to share some brief thoughts and reflections with you today.

Do you realize that it has now been almost 28 months since President Bush issued his fictional statement aboard the aircraft carrier “Mission Accomplished” and all major combat operations in Iraq have ended.

The truth is that combat operations have gone so long that there is now even a TV show called “Over There” that provides a fictional account of the ongoing war in Iraq.

I have never seen this fictional show and I understand that President Bush does not watch it either.

By why should President Bush watch this fictional show on Iraq when he gets a fictional account of the war in Iraq every day from Donald Rumsfeld.

People of faith are concerned about this war.

The Rev. Charles Gibbs, Executive Director of the United Religions Initiative, an organization that includes 88 faith traditions and indigenous tribes in 60 countries in the world when he heard that I would be speaking at this event sent a message that I would like to share a few excerpts from.

Rev. Gibbs states:

It is long past time to end an immoral war that should never have begun,

a preemptive war launched under false pretense, with an ever shifting

rationale.

The only thing clear about the war in Iraq is its catastrophic cost. 

Estimates say that no fewer than 10,000 and perhaps over 100,000 Iraqi

civilians have been killed. 

Nearly 2,000 American troops have been killed, not to mention Iraqi

troops and security forces. 

The damage to Iraq's infrastructure has been incalculable, as has the

attendant environmental damage. 

The moral authority of United States has been squandered. 

Terrorism is on the rise and the war in Iraq has become both a prime

recruiting tool and a premiere training ground for terrorists. 

As if this weren't tragic enough, we have spent nearly $200 billion to

create this disaster.  ....  

(Rev. Gibbs continues later in his message) 

it is long past time to stop waging this war and begin building a just

and sustainable peace through coalition building and environmentally

conscious economic development that strengthens local communities around

the world while addressing great human need.

The war in Iraq has divided our country and the world. While it presents

an enormous challenge, building a just and sustainable peace for all is

a cause around which people of all faiths all over the world can and

must unite.

The National Council of Christian Churches, who I had the privilege of representing at the G8 Summit last month issued a statement titled “A Call To Speak Out on the 4th of July this year.

This statement reads in part:

“Today in Iraq a cruel dictator has been deposed, yet the suffering of the Iraqi people continues.  Mandated elections have been held, yet the future of Iraq remains as uncertain as ever.  

Day by day the cost of this war for the United States, for Iraq, for peace grows clearer.  No weapons of mass destruction have been found; no link to the attacks on September 11, 2001 has been shown.  It has become clear that the rationale for invasion was at best a tragic mistake, at worst a clever deception.

As people of faith, we believe in the transcendent sovereignty and love of God for creation, and that the responsibility of human beings is thus to pursue justice and peace for all.  We also believe that, as the biblical prophets of old, who in faithfulness to God spoke out to a people and a nation they loved, in humility before God we too are to speak to a land and people we love.  As religious leaders we invite others who share our affections and dismay to recognize the time has come to speak out.

Will you join me in saying No!

to leaders who have sent many honorable sons and daughters to fight a dishonorable war;  We say NO!

to the violence that has cost about two thousand American lives, left thousands grievously injured, and killed untold numbers of Iraqis whose deaths we are unwilling to acknowledge or count; We Say NO!

to the abuse of prisoners that has shamed our nation and damaged our reputation throughout the world;  We say NO!

to the price tag for this war that has rendered our federal budget incapable of adequately caring for the poorest of our own citizens;   We Say NO!

and, to theologies that demonize other nations and religions while arrogantly claiming righteousness for ourselves as if we share no complicity in human evil.  We Say NO!

We are also a people that have many things to say YES! too.

to foreign policies that seek justice rather than domination, compassion rather than control;  We say YES!

to an early fixed timetable for the withdrawal of United States troops and the establishment of a credible multinational peacekeeping force;  We say YES!

to the honoring of human rights even for our enemies and for a restoration of our reputation as a people committed to the rule of law;  We say YES!

to spending and taxing priorities that put the poor first, providing health care, housing, employment, and quality education for all, not just the few;  We say YES!

and, to a restoration of truth telling in the public square and to "last resort" rather than "first strike" as the criterion for the use of force to restrain evil.  We say YES!”

The statement goes on to say that “we acknowledge that the freedom promised in the toppling of a dictator has been replaced by the humiliation of occupation and the violence of a civil war. The sacrifice of brave men and women has been used to serve policies that have diminished our nation's prestige and our capacity to be agents of justice in the world.”

You know that President Bush said we went to Iraq to look for Weapons of Mass Destruction.   

He would not have to look very hard at both in the U.S.  and around the world, particularly in Africa, to see that poverty is a weapon of mass destruction (WMD’s) and that for a small fraction of the cost of searching for nonexistent WMD’s in Iraq we could eliminate the real WMD of poverty in the world.

President Bush has also stated that the terrorists hate freedom and as Jay Leno has observed President Bush has reduced our freedoms through the Patriot act, apparently so we will be less of a target to the Terrorists.

Ben Franklin said it this way.

"Anyone who trades liberty for security deserves neither liberty nor security”

President Bush says we can’t afford to address issues like global warming because it might hurt our economy but he seems to have no concern about a war that is devastating our economy.

We don’t need a war that searches for fictitious weapons of mass destruction while ignoring real weapons of mass destruction such as global warming, poverty, hunger, and AIDS

We don’t need a war that takes away our liberty to supposedly protect our freedom.

We don’t need a war that is unjust and immoral to continue just because the President made a huge mistake.

Let’s work together to get the U.S. out of Iraq and elect a Congress who have the real interests of the American people in mind, who will protect our liberties, strengthen our economy, protect our environment and who will end the real weapons of mass destruction such as global warming, hunger and poverty.

Thank you.