A Call for Dialogue and Action on Iraq
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Allison Grossman is a Legislative Assistant at the Religious Action Center. She is a graduate of University of Arizona. |
Yesterday, the President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Bishop William S. Skylstad, released a statement to “Call for Dialogue and Action on Responsible Transition in Iraq.” Responding to the recent campaign rhetoric, Bishop Skylstad calls for a “much more substantive, civil and non-partisan discussion of ways to plan and secure a responsible transition in Iraq.”
The election has been widely referred to as a referendum on the current Administration’s handling of the war in Iraq; the new Democratic leadership has vowed to use their majority in the new Congress to cut troops in Iraq “within a matter of months.”
The Bishops’ statement, released during a meeting in Baltimore this week, recognizes the critical point the United States faces at this time. With an opposition Congress calling for troop withdrawal and a soon-to-be-released report of recommendations by the bipartisan Iraq Working Group, President Bush has been forced to defend his policy of “stay the course.” However, these contrasting views and an emergence of a unified Democratic opposition to the President provide the perfect opportunity for the “honest dialogue” urged by the Bishops.
Much along the lines of the Union for Reform Judaism’s Resolution on the War in Iraq, the “Call for Dialogue” recognizes the complexity of the issues surrounding the war and the need for continued assessment of past actions in order to minimize similar mistakes now. If partisan divide continues to dictate the policies of this war and ignores compromised, nuanced views, the consequences are more than simply control of Congress – they are Iraqi and American lives.