Church divided on Afghan strategy, united in prayer
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U.S.
and Italian medical personnel tend to an Afghan child near Camp Stone,
Herat, Afghanistan. On Dec. 1, President Obama announced he is sending
30,000 more troops there. A UMNS photo by U.S. Air Force Senior Airman
Marc I. Lane.
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By Kathy L. Gilbert*
Dec. 3, 2009
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Bishop Marshall L. Meadors
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As the world moves into Advent and Christmas, there is vigorous
debate over whether President Obama’s decision to deploy more U.S.
troops to Afghanistan will lead to greater peace on Earth.
Even as they disagree on military strategy, however, the one area
faithful United Methodists have no trouble reaching consensus on is
that Obama, and the soldiers and their families, need prayers and
support.
More than 70 United Methodist bishops signed a letter on Nov. 10 asking
the president to withdraw troops by the end of 2010. On Dec. 1, Obama
announced he was sending 30,000 additional troops to “accelerate
handing over responsibility to Afghan forces and allow us to begin the
transfer of our forces out of Afghanistan in July of 2011.”
Bishop Marshall L. Meadors, one of three retired United Methodist
bishops who drafted the letter, said the president’s decision was
“disappointing.”
Meadors said the goal of getting troops out by 2011 seems unrealistic.
“I realize that the president and his war cabinet know a great deal
more about the situation than I do, but based on the fact that we have
been involved in military action in Afghanistan for seven years now it
is difficult to conceive how the new strategy is going to bring a
victory,” the bishop said.
Other church members back the president.
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The Rev. Walter Fenton
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The Rev. Walter Fenton, chief operations officer for Good News
magazine, said he supports sending more troops to build up the Afghan
Army and police and to “degrade and weaken the brutal and violent
Taliban and al-Qaeda forces.”
“We recognize that faithful United Methodists and reasonable people can
disagree on various military strategies, but in light of the drastic
reduction in the number of military and civilian deaths after the surge
in Iraq, we support President Obama's decision to send 30,000 troops to
Afghanistan to defend the defenseless,” he said.
Meadors emphasized he was speaking for himself and not for the Council of Bishops.
“I’m just one human being, but I am committed to being a follower of
Jesus, who was a peacemaker,” he said. “The question is not, what would
Jesus do? But what would Jesus have us do?”
*Gilbert is a news writer for United Methodist News Service in Nashville, Tenn.
News media contact: Kathy L. Gilbert, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
Related Articles
77 bishops urge troop pullout from Afghanistan
Council of Bishops calls for immediate Iraq withdrawal
Obama: 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan by summer
Resources
Letter to President Obama
War: Overview
Council of Bishops
Good News Magazine
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