Unveiling the Light

The war in Iraq is now in its fourth year. Thus far, about 3,100 men and women from the United States have died in this war and some 25,000 have been wounded or injured. There is great sadness at these losses, as there should be. Every life is precious and every loss of life is to be mourned. Still, we have to wonder at the lack of fortitude demonstrated by so many Americans. Some complain that the war has lasted longer than World War II but fail to mention that in that war the level of violence reached unimagined proportions. They also fail to remember that it was the weakness of the United States, which at the start of the war had an army smaller than Switzerland, that enabled and empowered dictators and fascists to undertake that war.

Consider that in the single battle for Okinawa, the army, navy and marines lost over 12,800 personnel killed and nearly 38,000 wounded. In Europe, in a single day the battle to land on the European continent cost almost 11,000 dead among the allies, most of whom where Americans. World War II itself cost the world over 60 million deaths of which 17 million were soldiers. Some think the real figure could be over 70 million civilians. The United States suffered among the least but still lost nearly 300,000 soldiers killed. Civilians always suffer the worst in the area in which a war is fought. Thankfully very few American civilians were lost in that war. In fact, except for a few weather balloons with bombs sent over the Pacific by the Japanese, which killed a total of two people and started some fires; no civilians had been lost to enemy action since the War of 1812. That is, until the attack of 9-11.

None of this makes the deaths in Iraq any less tragic, especially for the families of those lost, but a country has to be able to take some losses and keep to its policies, or it will have no policy and become helpless in a world that is often unfriendly and hostile. Besides, much of the anguish over the deaths in Iraq rings hollow. Since the year 2000 the United States has lost, each year, over 43,000 civilians to auto accidents. 435,000 annual deaths are caused by tobacco, and 85,000 annual deaths are caused by alcohol. These are avoidable deaths. Where is anguish over these deaths?

In 2001 over 30,000 Americans committed suicide in the single year. Over 3,000 were between the ages of 15 and 24. Where is the outrage over this tragic loss of life, especially among our young people? Between the ages of 16 and 24, every year nearly 11,000 young men and women die in car crashes and another 5,000 die as victims of homicide. Accidental poisoning takes the lives of another 1,600 and accidental drowning account for over 600 deaths. While the losses in Iraq are tragic, they are much less than 700 per year and the fact is that we have far more problems right here at home. At least the deaths in Iraq are for a good cause and not due to bad behavior, alcohol and drugs, negligence or, simply the result of bad luck.

I want peace desperately, as much as anyone else. But I also recognize the situation we are in. The threat by radical Muslim fascists, a term that I believe well describes who these people fighting us are; is perhaps the biggest threat facing this country. To think that if we pack up and go home now that they will leave us alone is silly and unrealistic. They hate us. They have attacked our facilities continuously since the 60s and have managed to strike a powerful blow in our largest city, New York. What’s more is that their leaders depend on that hate and foster it so as to stay in power. It is all that keeps them from looking to their own system for the reasons behind their poverty. The idea of installing democracy in these countries is the one thing that can rob them of their power. It won’t be easy but it can be done.

I believe that the young men and women serving in Iraq and Afghanistan are great heroes, even as many here at home derogate what they are attempting to do. They seem to understand what they can accomplish and have concern for the average Iraqi citizen but, but we who are safe in the United States are filled with doubt. It may be that we simply do not want to see the world for what it is. It is a dangerous place, being made more so by some madmen who are harnessing Muslim fascist for their own purposes. Those purposes are usually aimed at the United States. Perhaps it is the lack of support from Europe that causes us anguish but we have never relied on European nations for moral leadership or fortitude. Instead, they continually look to us to bail them out of their problems, often caused by the lack of morality and fortitude. .

Fascism is on the rise in the Middle East because it keeps the people outwardly focused. It does not allow for self inspection that would ask why so many in an oil rich area remain in poverty. Why do so few live richly while the majority not only live in poverty but live at the mercy of those empowered by that poverty? Why are their economies stagnant and their populations largely untrained and unschooled, except in a radical version of the Koran? By keeping the people ignorant, steeped in hate, and blaming the West for their problems; these dictators keep themselves in power and seek more power through our loss. If we empower the people under their power, the people will seek what is best for them and turn to domestic and peaceful issues.

I often hear people point to the loss of Iraq civilians for a reason to stop the war but where was that anguish before we entered the war? Hussein killed by the thousands and probably is responsible for several hundred thousand dead in recent years alone, without counting the millions that died in Iraq’s attack on Iran that dragged on for years, to the point that civilians were being sent into battle with no training. We did not hear concern for Iraqi deaths then. No country tries to avoid civilian death more than the United States and yet it seems to be the only country blamed for such deaths.

I believe and am trained in the ways of peace. Jesus Christ did not advocate war. He advocated that we love our enemies. But Jesus also warned that we would face trials and persecutions and he never explicitly embraced pacifism. He performed miracles for soldiers and only instructed them to be just in their actions, not to leave their service. In fact, when the lowly and poor are victimized by others, we are instructed to seek justice and to come to their aid. Today millions are victims of Muslim fascists. It is not just in Iraq and Afghanistan but throughout the world, especially in Dafar, Africa where a Muslim dictator has undertaken ethnic cleansing on non-Muslims, with over 100,000 estimated killed and millions displaced by this persecution.

Evil has to be faced and confronted. I believe that we are experiencing evil in these attacks on civilians, as well as the wars that keep countries in dictatorships and focused on hatred. We have made progress in Iraq and we should finish the job. We should not do it for any financial gain, nor for strategic gain. We should do it because millions are being victimized and because the situation will only get worse if we leave. Being the most powerful and richest nation on earth; if we do not stand up to this hatred, who will? How long would it be before we are again glued to our sets watching Americans die needlessly here at home? Do we really think they will simply take over and then leave us alone? It never worked before.

We need to pray for peace and that peace should be for all peoples, but we also need to take a stand. These young people who serve us are taking a stand for us. We need to support them, not only for who they are but we need to support their cause as well. It is our cause and we need to face up to it. We cannot pull back within our borders. The last time we did that, in World War II, nearly 70 million people died in the world and our cost was dear as well. Hundreds of millions were maimed and hundreds of millions lost their homes. We could have stopped that war had we been ready to intercede sooner. Instead we waited until we were brutally attacked and then had to start the war from a weakened position. Meanwhile our enemies killed, maimed, raped, and imprisoned innocent people unchecked, until we were strong enough to stop it by force.

I want peace in the world but I also want justice and security. Peace? Yes! Peace at any price? No! This holds especially true when the peace we seek is for ourselves, today; at the cost of so many today and many more in the future. I pray for peace but for a just peace. I pray for Iraqis as well as Americans that we can learn to live as brothers and sisters. But I know that this will be impossible if we allow the radical fascists to continue to be empowered by their hatred of us. It is hard to hold out the hand of peace when your opposition is so anxious to cut it off. It should be even harder for us to stand by and witness so many being victimized. With great power comes great responsibility. We cannot have one without the other and nobody really wants to face a world in which the U.S. is weak and at the mercy of others.

Many will claim that my stand is unchristian but I disagree. I am simply looking at the larger picture. I am viewing a war to stop a dictator’s brutal rule in context of what would happen if we would not fight. It is not a choice of the lesser of two evils, although war itself is evil. It is a choice to step forward now to stop evil, or to sit back and wait for that evil to come to us while watching most of the world fall under its power. Ours is not the choice of evil. It is the choice of righteousness and the choice of hope for all people, not just for us. It is a hard choice but it is a choice that I pray we make correctly.