| PHILADELPHIA - August 26 - The American Friends Service Committee, the international social justice organization known for its humanitarian work, cautioned that the tragic bombing of United Nations headquarters in Iraq is endemic of a crisis wrought by the use of lethal force under the guise of building peace.
The Service Committee maintains that the Bush administration's unilateral decision to wage war in Iraq — without the support of the UN — has not only made the U.S. resented in the Middle East but also unpopular around the globe.
“The deterioration of the situation in the Middle East region clearly illustrates that violence and war are not lasting or effective solutions,” states Mary Ellen McNish, AFSC general secretary. “We grieve the loss of lives in the region. Violence is never justified and nothing can excuse the tragic acts that have occurred last week.”
The American Friends Service Committee urges the administration to take a radically different approach to the escalating crisis in the Middle East region. The Service Committee calls for increased international involvement in efforts to build peace in Iraq, and stresses the need for a strengthened role of Iraq civil society in shaping their country’s destiny.
“The cycle of violence in the region represents a profound failure – the failure of governments to address conditions of poverty, injustice and oppression that lead to uprising or war,” McNish stressed. “It also shows our failure as human beings to overcome our own fear and greed.”
The organization also emphasized that as an occupying power, the United States has failed to meet the immediate needs of the Iraqi people. Soldiers are trained to fight war, not police and rebuild countries, the organization states.
In March, the Service Committee challenged whether waging war against Iraq would really end terrorism or improve the safety of the United States. Instead, the group cautioned, use of military force would likely fuel more anger and despair across the region, thereby increasing rather than decreasing the threat of terrorism.
“We know from our experience helping people to rebuild in the wake of war, that use of military force only escalates the cycle of violence — creating fresh wounds and breeding more anger and resentment,” McNish adds.
Policy analysts and Middle Eastern leaders had also warned that wars with Afghanistan and Iraq, coupled with the deepening of the Israel Palestinian conflict and ongoing resentment built from 12 years of Iraqi sanctions, could set off an even greater firestorm of violence in the region.
“It is essential to look at the root causes of the feelings of anger and despair in the Muslim world that may lead to some acts of terror,” states Rick McDowell, who spent three months in Iraq as part of an AFSC humanitarian relief team.
The recent invasion of Iraq — launched without the support of the United Nations — has bred anger and resentment in a nation also reeling from twelve years of UN-enforced economic sanctions. The UN’s role in sanctions has damaged its historic image of neutrality for many Iraqis.
Compromised as it may be by the demands of its member nations, the UN remains a vital player in efforts of the Iraqi people to rebuild their lives.
The Service Committee outlined several steps toward a changed policy in the region:
The group urges the Bush administration to respect and uphold the principles of international law, especially the Hague and Geneva conventions, which obligate the United States, as an occupying force, to assure order and security for the civilian population.
Last week the United States rejected a broader role for the United Nations in Iraq. Without the UN, our obligation to help establish a better society is severely compromised. The historical charge of the UN as an impartial international entity must be supported and the reconstruction work under its auspices is critical.
More military troops are not the answer. Additionally, positioning humanitarian aid under the auspices of the Pentagon — essentially blurring the lines between the military and nongovernmental groups — has unduly placed aid workers at risk and unable to work effectively.
Finally, there needs to be accountability. The impartial role of nongovernmental humanitarian organizations in Iraq needs to be strengthened. A civil society guided by the Iraqi people and not defined by military occupation or foreign control is imperative. Rampant looting, suicide bombings, deaths at checkpoints, carjacking and bombs are huge obstacles for Iraqis to overcome to build a better society. As long as the US occupation of Iraq is defined by deprivation: a scarcity of food, clean water and basic everyday municipal services, our intentions will be suspect.
“Promoting democracy is best done by empowering people, not through occupation or military action,” McNish concludes.
The American Friends Service Committee has a long history working for peace and reconciliation in an atmosphere of war. At Herbert Hoover’s request, AFSC launched massive programs to feed millions of starving children in post-war Germany. On behalf of the United Nations, the Service Committee administered relief for over 200,000 refugees in the Gaza Strip in the 1940s. In 1947, AFSC and the British Friends Service Council accepted the Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of the Religious Society of Friends for humanitarian service, work for reconciliation, and the spirit in which these were carried out.
The American Friends Service Committee is a Quaker organization that includes people of various faiths who are committed to social justice, peace and humanitarian service. Its work is based on the belief in the worth of every person and faith in the power of love to overcome violence and injustice.
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