"There may be legitimate 'realist' national security arguments for U.S. military retrenchment from Afghanistan, but the Religious Left's demand for pacifism in U.S. foreign policy is unserious." -- Mark Tooley, IRD President

Contact: Jeff Walton, Institute on Religion and Democracy, 202-682-4131, 202-413-5639 cell, jwalton@TheIRD.org

WASHINGTON, July 1, 2011 /Christian Newswire/ -- As President Obama recently announced a drawdown of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, over 40 prominent religious activists demanded the President "bring the war in Afghanistan to an end." Pacifist Religious Left icon Jim Wallis criticized Obama for not withdrawing fast enough.

Signers of an open letter, including Wallis and the chief of the National Council of Churches, along with the Islamic Society of North America, lamented the "deteriorating" state of affairs in Afghanistan. Other signers are officials of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), the United Church of Christ, the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and the chief of the United Methodist General Board on Church and Society, along with several leftist Catholic orders.

The letter acknowledged "legitimate ethical and moral issues are at stake" in Afghanistan, including U.S. national security and women's rights but insisted "there is a better way than war." It primarily urged reliance on additional U.S. foreign aid. In his own declaration, Wallis derided any U.S. military presence in Afghanistan as a "moral mistake."

IRD President Mark Tooley commented:

"There may be legitimate 'realist' national security arguments for U.S. military retrenchment from Afghanistan, but the Religious Left's demand for pacifism in U.S. foreign policy is unserious.

"Nearly all the signers are pacifists or functionally so by denying force is ever morally justifiable. No nation could heed their utopian advice and survive.

"These church officials and religious activists claim a prophetic voice, but their 'prophecy' echoes the secular Left not the biblical prophets of old.

"In a fallen world, good intent and endless cash transfers, as the Religious Left always counsels, are not sufficient for deterring evil. Policymakers are wise to ignore the Religious Left's fantasies."