| Can we look beyond the last resort? Im trying very hard to write a column today that doesnt deal with the topic of war. Im trying very hard, but Im not succeeding. I had one column started that talked about Sheila and me taking dance lessons at the local Arthur Murrays Dance Studio. (Ill wait while my family and friends stop laughing) Believe it or not, its actually fun. I had another column started about Ash Wednesday and the season of Lent, about how I always give up French fries and Brussels sprouts and fish. (In the interest of total disclosure, I love French fries; I cant stand Brussels sprouts; and Im allergic to fish.) The column was going to talk about how I learned from the Rev. Kendall McCabe, my homiletics and worship professor at United Theological Seminary, that on Ash Wednesday we play with death and learn that death has no power over us, because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. I was going to mention that the first time I did an Ash Wednesday service, I preached on death and dying in the context of the resurrection. After the worship was over, one of the regular parishioners came up to me and said, If you ever do that again, Im leaving! Do what? I said. Preach on death Im just totally depressed now, he said. I wasnt sure how to respond to that statement. Maybe, I thought, I should lie to him and tell him hes never going to physically die? Nahhhhh. After each one of these columns was begun, I hit delete and my fingers start typing about war. It is quite possible that by time you are reading this column, the United States of America will have invaded Iraq. Hundreds of thousands of service men and women are poised near Iraq to take out Saddam Hussein. The merits of such action have been debated from the United Nations to the corner barbershop. United Methodists have been active on both sides of this issue, and some of those viewpoints have found their way into this publication, for which I, as managing editor, am grateful. So, I wont debate the issue of war here anymore. War, to me, is crazy. Period. End of story. What is bothering me right now is how the administration seems to have its collective face set toward war. I hear President Bush on the radio and on TV say that war is the last option, and that peace is what is desired. And while I want to believe him, Im worried. It seems like war is the only hammer in Bushs toolbox, and Iraq, no matter what it does, is one big nail. Am I the only one noticing that Bush seems to have turned his face towards war, and there is nothing that can turn him away? The pope sends a personal envoy to Washington an old family friend at that and Bush dismisses him even before he sits down for a chat. His face is turned. Iraq says that they have begun destroying missiles that are prohibited by the U.N. The weapons inspectors concur that Iraq is doing this. Bush says its not enough. His face is turned. France, Germany and Russia say give the weapons inspectors more timelet them do their job. Bush says Iraq has had since 1991 and thats enough time. His face is turned. Some Middle East experts say that for the United States to invade Iraq, get rid of or send Hussein into exile and install some kind of democratic government in the area will be to invite further terrorist attacks in our country and raise the level of hatred towards this country more than already exists. Bush seems not to notice or care, even though the devil will be in the details. His face is turned. The trouble for Bush, as I see it, is that now that he has turned towards war, he cant turn away without losing face. Commentators like an ever-flowing stream have mused that Bush has painted himself into a corner where he must strike Iraq or risk being the President Who Cried Wolf. And then he wouldnt get re-elected. Im reminded here of an almost heretical solution preventing the United States from going to war, advanced by my friend, the Rev. Dow Chamberlain, a brilliant editor at the United Methodist Publishing House. Old Dow once opined that any U.S. congressperson or president who authorizes war must resign from office at the end of their next term. In other words, you go to war, you lose your job. Its the ultimate price to pay for a politician, and it signifies that every other avenue has indeed been tried and found wanting. It signifies that war indeed is the last resort. That is, after all, what the president says war is: a last resort. I wonder if hed be willing to give up his job to prove it? | 
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