By David Gushee
For President-elect Barack Obama, the agreement reached between the Bush Administration and the Iraqi government that sets a December 2011 exit date for American combat troops is a great Christmas gift. Indeed, the fact that this deal was being negotiated during the campaign helped Obama even before the election.
So now the basic policy issue has been settled. The United States will not remain in Iraq indefinitely. Our troop numbers will reduce gradually and, eventually, most troops will leave. The details of the draw-down, of any continuing U.S. military presence, and of how the United States will conduct itself in Iraq, will be the subject of negotiation between the governments of two sovereign states — rather than of an imperial power dictating terms to a supine nation.
Even opponents of the war, as I have been, are obligated to note the progress of recent months and the more positive outlook for the Iraqi future than was imaginable even a year ago. The good news includes:
— The existence of a central Iraqi government with a clear leader, the capacity to negotiate an agreement with the United States on pretty tough terms, debate that agreement in parliament, and gain passage of the deal with a very substantial majority across all ethnic groups;
— The relative decline in terror attacks and loss of life;
— Tentative signs of a return to relative normality, including the opening of schools, rebuilding of communities, return of displaced people, and restoration of government services.
These achievements testify both to vast improvements in U.S. military and diplomatic strategy, and to the maturation of the young Iraqi democracy and its leaders. Surely great credit also must go to the Iraqi people themselves, who stared into the abyss of civil war and mass slaughter just a few years ago and have turned away from that path, at least for now. Those who suggested that Iraq would collapse into total chaos or break up into three mini-states have proven too pessimistic — although there was certainly reason, at the time, to fear such a turn of events.
These positive developments came too late, after too many mistakes, and at too great a cost, for President Bush to gain much political benefit. He gambled his presidency on the war in Iraq, and — at least in real time — he lost his wager. It will be left to history to judge whether the president will gain more credit or blame for this war. If Iraq settles into a relatively tolerant Islamic democracy, with a free press, fair elections, and an independent and just judiciary, the improvement over Saddam Hussein’s “republic of fear” will be hard to gainsay.
But, even if the best occurs, this kind of war of choice is unlikely ever to be repeated by the United States.
We have lost over 4,000 soldiers; ten times more than that have been seriously injured. We have spent over $600 billion, and the costs will stay with us for decades, for example, in terms of medical care for our wounded veterans. We have overextended our military, and our budget, and will be paying in subtle and direct ways for this under-resourced war for a long time to come. We have damaged relationships with our allies and worsened perceptions of our nation in the Arab world. Post-Iraq, we are a crippled giant, staggering economically and weakening militarily. Our power is waning relative to China and to other nations that steward their resources, influence, and power more carefully than we do.
It is possible both to recognize the positive signs of recent days in Iraq and conclude that for our own nation, at least, the costs of this war outweighed the benefits.
I think that there can be a convergence between Christian ethics and national well-being here. Christian ethics operates with a bias against war due to the teachings of Jesus Christ and sensitivity to the atrocious costs of war for human beings made in God’s image. Whether we embrace pacifism or just-war theory, Christians should bear witness to God’s will for the just and peaceful resolution of global conflicts. Meanwhile, it is in the best interests of our own nation to find ways to do exactly the same thing.
Good questions to ask from this point forward include the following: If military action were not an option in this situation, what other options might we pursue? What creative peacemaking strategies could achieve our objectives? It seems sometimes that both as Christians, and as Americans, we have forgotten how to ask such questions. Now is the time to remember them. We really have no choice.
