Word from Winkler — Flip-flopping on war

I am sorry to report that this summer the war supplemental bill passed the U.S. Congress by a relatively narrow vote in the House of Representatives and an overwhelmingly large margin in the Senate. President Obama had promised that supplemental bills to fund wars were a thing of the past, but when “your war” becomes “my war,” apparently a shift in position accompanies the change in adjective.

When ‘your war’ becomes ‘my war,’ apparently a shift in position accompanies the change in adjective.

The United Methodist Church opposes the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. I’m sorry to see many more billions of dollars wasted on war.

The House voted 226 to 202 to approve a $105.9 billion wartime spending bill. The Senate voted 91-5 to pass a bill that would fund military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan through Sept. 30, giving congressional backing to President Obama's plan to increase troops and resources for the war in Afghanistan.

Overshadowed by the health care and climate change debates, the $105.9 billion supplemental war bill also includes $7.7 billion to prepare for an outbreak of a pandemic flu, an increased U.S. contribution to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to battle the global economic downturn, and $1 billion to start the "cash for clunkers" program. You are no doubt aware that the program to give vouchers up to $4,500 to persons who turn in their old cars and purchase more fuel-efficient vehicles is already strapped for cash. The House voted another $2 billion last week to supplement the program.

The latest war-funding bill was attacked from both sides. For years, Republicans have portrayed the war supplemental bills as matters of national security. They accused Democrats who voted against them of being against the troops. This time around the Republicans justified their change in position by their objection to the $5 billion dollars allocated to the IMF, calling it an unnecessary international bailout at a time of great financial uncertainty for the United States.

On the other side

On the other side of the aisle, many anti-war Democrats objected to the continued costly spending on the Afghanistan and Iraq wars without provisions that call for a troop withdrawal. Their concerns also included increased military commitments to Pakistan, a significant player in the Afghanistan situation.

Many voted for Barack Obama because of an intense desire for an end to the war in Iraq.

Six years after the invasion of Iraq and nearly eight years after entering Afghanistan, the military actions have been overshadowed by the struggling economy. The national media, which beat the drum for the wars through “embedded journalists,” have turned their attention more to health-care reform and climate-change legislation.

According to a May Gallup poll, 47% of respondents said the economy was the U.S.’s biggest problem. Only 9% mentioned Iraq as their main worry.

Many voted for Barack Obama because of an intense desire for an end to the war in Iraq. Unlike Nixon’s secret 1968 plan for ending the war in Vietnam — which continued the war for seven more years — President Obama plans to get our forces out by the end of 2010. That’s great. They should never have been there in the first place.

No doubt many of you, like I am, are unhappy with the decision to expand the war in Afghanistan. We have to speak loudly on the need to end this war. There is no road to military victory in Afghanistan. None.

The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute issued its annual report on global military spending this summer. Worldwide, governments spent a record $1.46 trillion on their armed forces in 2008. This is akin to taking money, digging a huge hole in the ground, and burying it. After all, you can’t eat a tank or reside in a missile silo.

The United States spent $607 billion on the war and the military last year. The next nine countries’ military spending totaled $476.4 billion. China was number two behind the United States at $85 billion. There is no sign of the so-called axis of evil — Iraq, Iran or North Korea — nor Venezuela nor Cuba, for that matter, in the top 10.

A theft

Shortly after assuming the U.S. presidency in 1953, war hero Dwight Eisenhower said: “Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired, signifies in a final sense a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and not clothed. This world in arms is not spending money alone, it is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children.”

The evils of capitalism and militarism are as great as the evils of racism.

Imagine him saying that today! Rush Limbaugh, Newt Gingrich and Bill O’Reilly, the Unholy Trinity, would read him out of the Republican Party in a heartbeat. If he were in the Senate, Ike’s voting record would be considerably more liberal than that of Arlen Specter.

“The evils of capitalism and militarism are as great as the evils of racism,” according to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

While frustrated by the flip-flopping nature of politics in the U.S. capital, The United Methodist Church will continue to seek an end to nuclear weapons. We are pushing for the ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. At a time when North Korea continues to test nuclear weapons, we as a nation cannot seem to see the value of moving forward with a test ban?

Beyond the test ban, let’s remember the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. That was a bargain the five nuclear powers made more than 40 years ago with the rest of the world. It went like this: “If you, all the nations of the world, will not develop nuclear weapons, then we will destroy ours.” Unfortunately, the United States, the Soviet Union, the Peoples Republic of China, Great Britain and France reneged on the deal.

The flip-flopping nature of politics in Washington, D.C., necessitates that the United Methodist General Board of Church & Society not be an unquestioning supporter of President Obama. In late June, I joined other religious leaders in a public witness at Lafayette Park across the street from the White House. We made a public witness for a commission of inquiry for a comprehensive investigation on the use of torture by the federal government.

The president has steadfastly expressed opposition to such an inquiry. We want to make sure the criminal behavior that is torture is not repeated. That can be precluded if those who believe it is okay to torture know that they will have to pay for their crimes.

Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP), a coalition based in the United Methodist Building held a prayer breakfast this summer in the Rayburn House Office Building, which is down the street. We are a founding member of CMEP. At the breakfast, members of Congress, spoke and made two main points regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, another troubled area where weapons of violence consistently override voices of reason. The members of Congress said this is a moment of hope and optimism thanks to President Obama’s approach, and the faith community has a powerful and growing impact on Congress. We are thankful for an approach that brings hope, where death and destruction have reigned.

While that’s nice to hear that the faith community’s has a growing impact, it is still overwhelmed by that of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). That self-described 100,000-member national grassroots movement was characterized by The New York Times as "the most important organization affecting America's relationship with Israel." One hundred thousand AIPAC members, and there are nearly 8 million United Methodists alone! Obviously, The United Methodist Church needs to be better organized at the general, annual and local church levels in order to have a truly influential voice for a balanced, fair U.S. policy toward the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

It makes me so sad to realize that the birthplace of three great religions that value peace over war continues to be so violent. I sense that Abraham, Jesus, Muhammad and God share my sadness.