RESOLUTION
CALLING FOR A PHASED END TO U.S. MILITARY OPERATIONS IN IRAQ AND INTENSIFIED
RE-BUILDING EFFORTS IN NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA AND OTHER GULF COAST AREAS
DAMAGED BY HURRICANE KATRINA
Presented during the Midwinter Meeting of the
NATIONAL BAPTIST CONVENTION, USA, INC.
DR. WILLIAM J. SHAW, President
January 25, 2007
Birmingham, Alabama
WHEREAS, on January 24, 2003, during its 2003 Mid-Winter meeting in Nashville, Tennessee, the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc. unanimously resolved
that we were "prayerfully and publicly opposed to our beloved country
going to war against the people of Iraq." That resolution further
declared that "The President, Officers, Board of Directors, Auxiliaries,
Boards, and Commissions of NBCUSA, Inc. firmly believe that non-violent social
change and international peace-making are the most desired methods to address
any and all infractions of Iraq against the United Nations Resolutions passed
relative to weapons of mass destruction in Iraq's possession." The
2003 resolution further observed that President George W. Bush "appears to
be unchangeably bent on waging war against Iraq at the expense of millions of
innocent Iraqi men, women, and children, and thousands of men and women filling
the ranks of our United States Military Forces, regardless of the findings of
the United Nations weapons inspectors currently in process in Iraq;" and
WHEREAS, on January 28, 2005, following a
historic gathering of the four black Baptist bodies (National Baptist
Convention, USA, Inc., National Baptist Convention of America, Progressive
National Baptist Convention, and National Missionary Baptist Convention of
America), the leaders of those bodies issued a joint statement calling for an
end to the U.S. military involvement in Iraq by invoking the prophetic words of
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a Baptist preacher, who said:
A true revolution of values will lay hands on the world order and say of
war: 'This business of settling differences is not just.' This business
of ... filling our nation's homes with orphans and widows, of injecting
poisonous drugs of hate into veins of people normally humane, of sending men
home from dark and bloody battlefields physically handicapped and
psychologically deranged, cannot be reconciled with wisdom, justice, and
love. A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on
military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual
death. ... There is nothing, except a tragic death wish, to prevent us from
reordering our priorities, so that the pursuit of peace will take precedence
over the pursuit of war."
WHEREAS, as of January 24, 2007, 3057 U.S. defense personnel have lost
their lives and 23,114 have been wounded in Operation Iraqi
Freedom. Over 10,200 of the wounded have been unable to return to
action. According to some estimates, the war in Iraq is costing more than $2 billion a week. We now repeat what was said by black Baptist
leaders two years ago following our Joint Midwinter Meeting:
As National Baptists, we look upon the sorrow, suffering, and financial cost
of the war in Iraq and remember Dr. King's outcry against the military
engagement in Vietnam more than two generations ago, and his prophetic message
about the wicked and tragic folly of our nation's self-righteous choice for war
rather than peace and nonviolent change. Unnecessary and unjust war
does not produce genuine peace, only death, suffering, more violence, and hate.
Because President Bush defied calls from the international community to not
invade Iraq, the United States is now mired in a civil war. As religious
leaders whose constituents have family members in the U.S. armed forces serving in Iraq and elsewhere around the world, we pray for the security of our
nation and the safety of our military personnel. We weep with
families who mourn the deaths of their loved ones and we share the anxiety of
families for those who press on in service. Our call that our
nation end its military involvement in Iraq does not rise from lack of support
for our armed forces, disregard for national security, or lack of resolve
concerning freedom and democracy. Rather, we are concerned about our
troops and our military families whose loved ones have been ordered to fight
and continue a war that has created a hell for the people of Iraq and
quagmire for our military forces It is not just or patriotic for our
leaders to subject the sons and daughters of this nation to a sectarian war
that was started based on grossly inaccurate, if not false, information and assumptions.
FURTHERMORE, the present investment for the war in Iraq is happening while New Orleans and other areas along the Gulf Coast remain damaged and in dire
need of rebuilding. There is no just or righteous reason why New Orleans and other areas of the U.S. Gulf Coast should languish from the effects of
Hurricane Katrina when the nation is spending billions of dollars each week in
to maintain a military presence in Iraq. The recent decision by President
Bush to commit more than 20,000 additional military personnel to Iraq in coming months, with the costs associated with that investment, is especially disappointing
when one considers that federal resources have not been equally committed to
rebuild New Orleans and restore other areas of the Gulf Coast.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the National Baptist Convention,
USA, Inc. renews its call for an end to the U.S. military involvement in Iraq,
and urges President George W. Bush and the United States Congress to
immediately begin an orderly withdrawal of military personnel from that
nation.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that we call upon the constituent
churches, associations, and state conventions of our religious body to exhort
their members and neighbors to join in this call by appeals to members of
Congress and President Bush to begin an orderly withdrawal of military
personnel from Iraq.
BE IT ALSO RESOLVED, that we urge President Bush and Congress to redirect federal resources so that New Orleans and other areas along the U.S. Gulf Coast can be restored, repopulated, and made safe.
ADOPTED this 25th day of January, 2007, in Birmingham, Alabama, by vote of the body.
National Baptist Convention, USA,
Inc.
_________________________
William J. Shaw of Pennsylvania
President
_________________________
Harry Blake of Louisiana
General Secretary
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H. DeVore Chapman of New York
Secretary, Board of Directors