Iraq situation unacceptable: U.S. Catholic bishops

[ProSense]

Iraq situation unacceptable: U.S. Catholic bishops

CHICAGO (Reuters) - U.S. Catholic bishops on Tuesday described the situation in Iraq as "unacceptable and unsustainable," and urged the Bush administration to pull out American troops in a responsible way as quickly as possible.

The bishops also warned of dangerous divisions in U.S. society created and exacerbated by the war.

"The dangerous political stalemate in Iraq that blocks national reconciliation finds a parallel in our own nation. We are alarmed by the political and partisan stalemate in Washington," the bishops said in a statement approved at their semi-annual meeting in Baltimore.

They criticized both pro and anti-war adherents, saying the former did not recognize the real failures of U.S. policy in Iraq and the need for change while the latter disregarded the probable human costs of an immediate U.S. troop withdrawal.

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[TwilightGardener]

1. That's a pretty reasonable stance--

I agree with the Bishops, although I think there are very few anti-war folks who seriously want an IMMEDIATE withdrawal, considering it's not even possible, logistics-wise.

[ProSense]

4. That's the little caveat they always throw in to give the impression that the

pro-war folks are just being cautious. We should never have invaded Iraq and the occupation was never justified, not even by the BS claims: well we're there now, or we broke it we need to fix it.

[TwilightGardener]

5. Right--they throw that in to make themselves look "fair and balanced"--

I never bought that "broke it bought it" bullshit either. They deserve our help, and a responsible withdrawal, but not our neverending presence to police them.

[gratuitous]

2. This is a good start

Now, maybe start withholding communion from Catholic public officials who continue to prosecute and endorse this war? If an Archbishop can threaten candidates for being insufficiently anti-choice, surely the bishops can make the much easier injunction against public officials who back an unacceptable and unsustainable war.

[stirlingsliver]

3. What Do I Care?

What in the hell should I care about what a bunch of patriarchal old men who are leaders in a patriarchal organization have to say about anything?

If I care about what they say about this issue, then it just gives THEM more credibility when they want to ponitificate about things like reproductive choice or rights for gay people or about condoms for people in Africa.

When it comes to politics, I think the less we hear from people like Catholic bishops, the better.

[spanone]

6. it's unacceptable but they want to keep the troops there?

They criticized both pro and anti-war adherents, saying the former did not recognize the real failures of U.S. policy in Iraq and the need for change while the latter disregarded the probable human costs of an immediate U.S. troop withdrawal.

conundrum




:dilemma:

[TwilightGardener]

7. No, they just bought the "precipitous withdrawal" BS that GOPers like

to throw around. We couldn't do a "precipitous withdrawal" if we wanted to.