| War, domestic concerns dominate UM legislative briefing By Joretta PurdueUnited Methodist News Service  Politicians and social justice advocates held out hope during a legislative briefing that people across the United States can still make a difference where it counts: in the budget and on issues of war and peace.
More than 250 United Methodists attended a March 2-5 legislative briefing on Gospel Demands Public Witness, sponsored by the denominations Board of Church and Society. Speakers, including two senior senators, called for alternatives to a military strike against Iraq and urged President George Bush to give more attention to domestic issues. Sen. Edward Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.), a Catholic, and Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii), a United Methodist, both elected to Congress in 1962, spoke about the costs of war. Marian Wright Edelman, founder of the Childrens Defense Fund, lamented the Bush administrations proposed budget and the high price she said it will exact from children and the poor. Kennedy praised Bush for the way he rallied America and the entire international community after the appalling terrorist attack of Sept. 11, and for impressive leadership during the war in the Afghanistan. But few can also deny that after that, President Bush squandered too much of the good will of the world community because of his single-minded rush to war with Iraq even if he has a few or even no allies to go to war with him, and even when there are other ways to contain the threat posed by Saddams Iraq, Kennedy said. He said everyone agrees that Saddam is a despicable dictator, but he asserted that war with Iraq would make the world more dangerous rather than less. He warned against shattering the very coalition that we need in order to combat the greater and more imminent threat we face from al-Qaida and its terrorists. This is the same coalition that led to the arrest the preceding weekend of the man believed to have planned the Sept. 11 attack on the United States, Kennedy added. On top of these actions, the Bush administration quietly and stealthily changed a half a century of American defense policy from one that used our nuclear arsenal for defense to one in which nuclear weapons may be used pre-emptively, Kennedy said. That is a major change that affects prospects for peace on the planet, and Americans are owed a debate on that, he said. We cannot be a bully in the world schoolyard and expect cooperation, friendship and support from the rest of the world, he cautioned. War cannot be successfully waged if it lacks the strong support of the people. The reason for that lack of support today is clear. The administration has not made a convincing argument for war against Iraq or its costs or its consequences. He urged strengthening domestic defenses and an honest discussion of the financial costs of war. Across the country, the Bush administration is leaving local governments high and dry in the face of continuing threats at home. Im here because Ive seen too many wars, Inouye said. One of his sleeves hangs empty because he lost an arm in military service during World War II. He was a naive 18-year-old when he left Hawaii, he recalled, a young man who sang in the choir, attended worship and participated in Sunday school. After a little training, he went to the front. He will never forget shooting his first German soldier. He was praised by his buddies, and I felt proud, he confessed softly. Killing becomes commonplace, he said. The training and military experience changes people, he reported. It does terrible things to the human soul. It would take a minor miracle to change the path were on (to war with Iraq), he commented. Though hes the senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, he said he has been given no idea how long such a war will take, how long an occupation the administration expects and what will happen after Saddam Hussein is gone. And even after Saddam, potential will exist for much bloodshed among the various ethnic and religious groups within Iraq, he said. Several speakers, such as U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio), expressed concern for domestic issues. This country ought to stand for a national health care plan a quality health care plan, Kucinich said. Preserve Social Security and resist any efforts to privatize, he urged, saying Social Security is rock solid through 2041 as it is. He supports full employment with a living wage and an America at peace with the world without aggressive unilateralism. Eleanor Holmes Norton, delegate to the House of Representatives from the District of Columbia, said of the current administration and Congress: They need to get back to the business of the United States of America. She praised churches for providing leadership and speaking out on the issues of the day. | 
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