Serving Bread

(Part V in an occasional series. Read Part I, Part II, Part III, and Part IV)

Today marks the four year anniversary of our [tag]war[/tag] in [tag]Iraq[/tag]. Four years ago, American and coalition forces launched an air strike and ground offenses to de-arm Saddam’s Iraq. Under the (false) premises that Saddam was storing [tag]weapons of mass destructions[/tag], we launched the war after “diplomacy” had failed, and Saddam and his family refused to leave Iraq.

After four years, there are nearly 4 million Iraqis displaced. The coalition is a skeleton of what it was, with Great Britain being the lone ally remaining in the coalition that has contributed a significant number of troops. There are anywhere between 60,000 and 600,000 Iraqi civilians who have been killed in the process. The government of Iraq is weak with no significant army that can fight the insurgents. Americans are split over the war, with a growing number of people who want us to just get out. Also, American influence in the world has suffered significantly, with many countries in the world having a negative view of the US.

The above paragraph is not an opinion. It’s a fact. How does this thing end? To be honest, I have no idea. How do we win the [tag]peace[/tag]?

It is not alone that we are a military power in the world and that we can win any war that comes our way because of our military strength. Winning the military battles is only a portion of war strategy. Engaging and winning a war requires understanding on how to win the peace. And sometimes, the legwork needed to win the peace may not necessarily be in line with a military response. Considering that our military presence has caused distrust and even hatred of the United States makes it even more difficult to win the peace.

And our administration knows that, which is why it has dispatched officials (Karen Hughes) to the region as cultural attaches.

While philosophers and various other world-views can have their own framework on the merits of war, as Christians (whether one subscribes to Just War, Pacifism or Christian Hawkism*) our focus on how to think about war should ultimately be on peace and reconciliation. If we engage war for the sake of war or to protect American interests, we compromise the integrity of our faith.

The continuing Iraq war has challenged any hopes I have that there is a good solution out of the mess we’re in. I have yet to hear how we will truly win the peace in Iraq. May the blunder or this generation and administration be a lesson for future ones.

Notes:  

Christian Hawkism is a term I have coined to refer to Christians who hold the Bible and Jesus’s teaching central to their lives. Their outlook on areas of war and peace puts them almost diametrically opposed to Pacifists. they are Christians who advocate war and believe that a military response is almost always appropriate. 

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