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The Interfaith Alliance LONG ISLAND
CHAPTER www.interfaithalliance-li.org Dear Colleague, As you know, President Obama, in a historic speech at the
United States Military Academy at West Point this past fall, has indicated his intention to send 30,000 additional troops
to Afghanistan in an attempt to shore up the Karzai government and defeat the forces of the Taliban and Al-Qaeda. If you are
like me, you were impressed by the elegance of the President's words and the thoughtfulness behind them and may even have
been tempted to give the policy “a chance.” But you may also have looked at the earnest young faces of our West
Point cadets and wondered how many would be required to give their lives for this ill-defined mission to shore up a government
that is without the support of its people. You may have wondered how we can continue to justify expending such enormous resources
when there are such crushing problems at home. You may have wondered, as I have, how many lives were enough to convince our
President of what so many of his predecessors have ultimately had to face: that liberty cannot be imposed at the point of
a gun and that the hard truth is that just as it was for the United States, the struggle toward democracy is, and must be,
a self generated struggle. No matter how lofty our intentions, we cannot make another nation in our image by force of arms,
but rather, consistent with our values as a nation, we must allow them to make their own way. If there is any mission
to which we as religious leaders are called, it is to be the “voice crying in the wilderness,” calling our people
and our leaders to heed the moral imperative to peace and reconciliation. In that spirit, Rabbi Arthur Waskow of the Shalom
Center has issued a national call to our President and members of Congress to bring about a swift end to the war in Afghanistan
. I am urging you to support and sign on to that call. We cannot bomb Afghanistan into democracy or promote peace and human
rights at gunpoint. The only way to peace is through peace. If we do not exercise our prophetic role as we stand at the verge
of this misguided escalation, who will? If we do not do it now, when will we? Please join us by signing on to this declaration
and saying no to more bloodshed. All of God’s people need peace. To sign on to Call to Swiftly End War in Afghanistan(pasted
below) , please reply to LI Alliance at longislandpeace@gmail.com or send to 38 Old Country Road , Garden City NY 11530 . Peace to You, The Rev. Mark J. Lukens, OCC Pastor- Bethany Congregational Church,Chair, The Interfaith Alliance - LI Salaam, Habeeb Ahmed, Chairman of the Board, Islamic Center of Long Island Peace, S. Jeanne Clark, O.P. ,Coordinator,
Pax Christi Long Island
A CALL TO SWIFTLY END
THE U.S. WAR IN AFGHANISTAN (The Shalom Center) Whereas, some strands of the great religious and ethical traditions of our planet teach that war is never acceptable,
and practically all our traditions, as well as the modern international law that binds all nations, command that war must
be used - if at all - only when absolutely necessary in self -defense, and then with extreme care to use only the degree of
violence necessary to halt an attacker; and
Whereas, the people and nation of Afghanistan, the abysmally
poorest country in the world, pose no danger to the United States; and
Whereas Al Qaeda, once headquartered
in Afghanistan, is now dispersed in a many-centered network in a number of countries, with very few operatives still in Afghanistan;
and
Whereas, the US government's policy and military strategy in Afghanistan is to impose a corrupt and
illegitimate central government on a society for centuries rooted in local and tribal governance, with a passionate opposition
to foreign armies; and
Whereas, the head of the Afghani "national government" has himself said
it will be 15 to 20 years before that government and its military are capable of achieving on their own the degree of control
desired by the US military over a deeply decentralized tribal society; and
Whereas, the announcement by
President Obama that the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan would "begin" in August 2011 not only had
no date for the completion of withdrawal but has been deeply undercut by subsequent assertions by key US officials and generals
that even this "beginning" will depend on conditions as they then exist; and
Whereas, the result of
this US military intervention has been many deaths, imprisonments, and tortures of Afghani civilians and therewith increasing
rage and hatred toward the United States; and
Whereas, the US war in Afghanistan has brought about the
deaths and maimings in body, mind, and soul of thousands of Americans, and the recent decision of the US government to escalate
the war will now multiply those deaths and maimings; and
Whereas, the US war in Afghanistan has paralyzed
and distorted US foreign policy in other, far more crucial areas of the world; and
Whereas, the commitment of
hundreds of billions of dollars to carry on this war will prevent vital investments in efficient railroads, replacement of
rotting sewers and water systems, renewal of education, installation of a network of advanced renewable energy sources, green
jobs, and other crucial needs of American society -
Therefore, be it resolved that The Interfaith Alliance
– LI Chapter, Islamic Center of LI, Pax Christi LI and The LI Alliance for Peaceful Alternatives call on the President
and Congress of the United States
· to bring swiftly and safely home all US troops and military, CIA ,
and associated contract personnel from Afghanistan ; · to explore the possibility of working with local and tribal leaders and with women's organizations
for bringing grass-roots help to economic development; and · to redirect money now planned to support the war to meeting vital domestic American needs.
Call to Swiftly End the U.S. War in Afghanistan, drafted by Rabbi Arthur Waskow, The Shalom Center. Adopted The Interfaith Alliance , Long
Island Chapter, Islamic Center of Long Island , Pax Christi LI and Long Island Alliance for Peaceful Alternatives.
January 2010.
_____________________________________________________________________________ To sign on to Call to Swiftly End
the U.S. War in Afghanistan , please reply to LI Alliance: longislandpeace@gmail.com or send to 38 Old Country Road , Garden City , NY 11530 Please make copies and distribute
widely. Thank you. Signatures will be delivered to Long Island Congressional Representatives on March 19,
2010.
Name:
Affiliation:
Address:
Email:
Phone:
Peace to You,
The Rev. Mark J. Lukens, OCC Pastor- Bethany Congregational Church,Chair,
The Interfaith Alliance - LI Salaam, Habeeb Ahmed, Chairman of the Board, Islamic Center of Long Island Peace, S. Jeanne Clark, O.P. ,Coordinator, Pax Christi Long
Island Margaret Melkonian Co-Director LI
Alliance for Peaceful Alternatives 38 Old Country Road Garden City,
NY 11530 516-741-4360 Celebrating 25 Years of Peacemaking on
Long Island, 1985-2010
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All the best,
Mary Beth Moore, S.C. Co-Director
L. I. Alliance for Peaceful Alternatives
www.longislandpeace.org
38 Old Country Rd.
Garden City, NY 11530
516-741-4360
Celebrating 25 years of peacemaking on
Long Island 1985-2010
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