George W. Bush: War criminal? Is Pope John Paul II telling the world...

[Dave Farber <dave () farber net>]

From Capitol Hill Blue

The Bush Leagues
George W. Bush: War criminal?
By CHB Staff
Mar 10, 2003, 05:42

Is Pope John Paul II telling the world that if President George W. Bush goes
ahead with his plans to invade Iraq without United Nations sanctions, the
Catholic Church will consider Bush a war criminal?

³A war would be a defeat for humanity and would be neither morally nor
legally justified,² the Pope told Bush in a papal message delivered last
week by a special envoy. ³It is an unjust war.²
This leads even conservatives like John McLaughlin, host of the syndicated
McLaughlin Group and a longtime supporter of both conservative and
Republican causes, to have second thoughts.
³The Pope is saying an invasion of Iraq would be criminal,² says McLaughlin,
who is also a former Jesuit priest. ³A statement that strong cannot be
ignored.²
As Bush and Secretary of State Colin Powell scramble for votes in their
uphill battle to win UN Security Council approval for an immediate invasion
of Iraq, the Pope¹s words are creating growing problems for Bush at home.
On Capitol Hill, where many members of Congress are Catholic, the Pope¹s
words add to increasing concern that Bush¹s stance of Iraq has left the U.S.
in a no-win diplomatic corner.
³The Pope is more than just the leader of a religious community,² says
McLaughlin, who served as a speechwriter for Republican presidents Nixon and
Ford. ³The Vatican is a recognized sovereign entity with its own diplomatic
standing and recognition.²
Although no Catholic member of Congress, Republican or Democrat, has yet
announced opposition to the war based on the Pope¹s comments, sources within
both parties on the Hill say it is only matter of time before it happens.
³We can talk until the cows come home about the separation of church and
state but the fact remains that religion carries a lot of weight on the
Hill,² says political scientist George Harleigh. ³The Republicans use
religion to justify opposition to abortion, the religious right answers to
their leaders, the Jewish members listen to what Israel wants and the
Catholics listen to the Pope.²
Supporters of the Pope¹s position say the opposition is not driven by
antiwar sentiments. The Pope did, in fact, support the U.S. war against
terror in Afghanistan. But when it comes to Iraq, the Pope does not feel the
U.S. has made its case for immediate invasion before the UN Security Council
has exhausted other diplomatic means.
This makes members of Congress with large blocs of Catholic voters back home
sit up and take notice.
³I want to think my President is right in this cause,² said a longtime
Republican member of Congress on Saturday, ³but I also have to listen to my
conscience and the leader of my religious faith. The phone calls from my
Republican district are running 4-1 against invading Iraq. I also have to
listen to my constituents.²
Some Republican members are now telling House Speaker Dennis J. Hastert that
they want a new Congressional resolution to authorize military action
against Iraq but sources in Hastert¹s office say the speaker is resisting
because he feels such a resolution would fail.
³We don¹t have the votes on either side of the aisle to back the President¹s
play on this,² says one Hastert aide. ³A vote would undermine the President
and destroy our credibility in the world¹s eyes.²
Lon Edwards, who worked in the Republican administration of Bush¹s father,
says the President¹s credibility is already gone.
³We say we are going to war with Iraq to enforce that country¹s
non-compliance with a resolution of the United Nations. But the UN, whose
resolution we are using to justify the action, refuses to ratify that
action," Edwards says. "Where¹s the credibility in that?"
Other diplomatic professionals agree that the President¹s position is
growing more and more untenable each day the U.S. set deadline of March 17
grows near.
³I went to work in the State Department when Richard Nixon was in office,²
says retired diplomat Morris Leibmann, who left the State Department because
he didn¹t like Bill Clinton¹s actions as President. ³I would be ashamed to
be representing the United States with our allies right now. We¹re acting
like a spoiled bully who is throwing a temper tantrum because he didn¹t get
his way.²
Repeated attempts to obtain official comments from The White House or the
offices of House Speaker Dennis J. Hastert or Senate Majority Leader Bill
Frist were unsuccessful over the last three days.

© Copyright 2003 Capitol Hill Blue



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