I remember the invasion of Kuwait in 1990, and how, for a moment, I was seduced by the notion that we needed to re-run World War 2, ousting Saddam, the new Hitler.
I remember the invasion of Kuwait in 1990, and how, for a moment, I was seduced by the notion that we needed to re-run World War 2, ousting Saddam, the new Hitler.
I remember the generals and their briefings that told us that the precision weapons used in airstrikes protected civilians, and reading news reports that said otherwise.
I remember that Britain and America armed Saddam Hussein in the first place.
I remember that America gave Iraq the green light to invade Kuwait, and then changed their minds.
I remember America bombed the retreating Iraqi army on the Highway of Death.
I remember discovering the post colonial carve up of the region allowed Kuwait to secede from Iraq, giving Saddam Hussein the excuse he needed to invade 40 years later.
I remember sanctions against Iraq, and regular airstrikes that hurt ordinary Iraqis and strengthened Saddam Hussein’s position.
I remember the horrors of 9/11 and worrying what the American response might be.
I remember that America developed Al Qaeda to resist the Russians in Afghanistan, then turned on the monster they had created.
I remember resisting the war in Afghanistan, when we told our leaders the disasters that would follow if we invaded.
I remember the drumbeats for war in Iraq, and the lies we were told.
I remember the myth of weapons of mass destruction, and the idea that Iraq posed a threat to us.
I remember that 2 million people marched against war.
I remember “Shock and Awe”, the destruction of Iraqi people’s lives and homes.
I remember the lack of post-invasion planning that led to chaos and the disintegration of civil society in Iraq.
I remember the rise of armed militia, the kidnappings of Westerners, including our friend Norman Kember.
I remember how the promise of a stable Afghanistan, and a stable Iraq were never realised.
I remember Obama coming to prominence with his pledges to end war in Iraq, only to usher in the age of Drone Wars.
I remember politicians telling us we must invade Libya to protect ourselves from our old friend Colonel Gaddafi, and Syria, from our old friend Assad.
I remember politicians choosing not to go to war in Syria, and the hope that they might find alternatives.
I remember realising that avoiding war is not enough, and that the situation in Syria has worsened because our governments still cannot envisage how to work for peace.
And now, as ISIS has taken control of swathes of Iraq and Syria, intimidating the population, and beheading journalists and aid workers, our leaders ask us to trust them again. This morning (Monday September 23rd 2014) American planes dropped bombs over Iraq – again. They want us to believe that this time air strikes will make a difference. This time, we will defeat the enemy we created once and for all. This time we will build lasting peace in the region. They want us to forget that the peace they promised in Iraq quickly disintegrated into violence and chaos. That the enemy we must defeat has been able to flourish because of that chaos (even, some are suggesting with a little bit of help from us) . They want us to believe that this is nothing to do with them. Time and time again, our leaders have asked us to trust them, and to follow them into the war that will end it all, and create real and lasting peace. But I remember, and I refuse.
In the last week as I have run, and swum through my training programme, I have run to the beat of this mantra. And I have remembered too that, Ekklesia has long been an advocate of nonviolent solutions to war. We warned of the dangers of going into Iraq, and were proved right. We have supported initiatives such as the Christian Peace Maker Teams who work in areas of conflict. We post regular blogs and commentary about Iraq , Syria and Afghanistan . We report on the work of peacemakers who resist war and propose alternative solutions . And in 2009 we launched our campaign to re-imagine remembrance . Instead of focussing on our ‘glorious’ dead we want to remember all killed in war, on all sides. We want remembrance to be truthful – alongside the stories of great heroism, we must acknowledge the massacres, the carpet bombings, the drone strikes. We want remembrance to mean recognising the terrors that war brings and the hope that emerges from the possibilities for peace.
Remembrance season is fast approaching, and we will soon be bombarded with messages of ‘Lest we forget’. And, of course, we should never forget the suffering of those who have gone to war. But, if we want to build peace, we mustn’t stop there. We must not forget ALL victims of war, not just the military lives that are lost. We must not forget in particular, the civilians who lose their homes, their lives, their livelihoods. We must not forget how our governments are too quick to rush to war as the solution, never learning from the mistakes of even the recent past.
ISIS is a terrible organisation, causing great harm to ordinary Syrians, Iraqis and Westerners. But it is flourishing in Iraq because of the problems we created there. It is flourishing in Syria because we have stoked the fires of civil war there. Air strikes may kill its leaders, but other leaders will rise to replace them. And, because air strikes are never that precise, civilians, their schools, and hospitals and homes will all be harmed and damaged on the way. So every time we bomb a wedding, kill a child, destroy a factory, we strengthen the very ‘enemy’ we are trying to defeat.
Peacebuilding is hard. It requires less obvious solutions, like cutting off the supply of weapons and funding to organisations like ISIS. It requires leaders with vision and the strength to withstand the baying media mob that calls for ill thought out military action. It requires making contact and meeting with people who may have committed terrible actions and trying to find common ground. It requires putting aside the anger and resentment of the past to work for a better future. Some might say it is vain hope that it can be achieved. And yet, in my life time, I remember the terror of IRA bombs. And I remember that two sworn enemies, Iain Paisley and Martin McGuiness, not only sat down together, but became the closest of friends.
Peace is always possible. We just have to want it enough.
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Next week’s focus will be austerity.
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© Virginia Moffatt is chief operating officer of Ekklesia. Her blogs can be found here: http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/blogs/virginiamoffat