December 19, 2002
Rumsfeld Consults With Religious Leaders on War, Peace
by Adelle M. Banks and Kevin Eckstrom
Religion News Service
WASHINGTON -- About a dozen religious leaders met with Pentagon officials, including Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, on Wednesday (Dec. 18) for a briefing on the war against terrorism.
Clergy participants described the two-hour gathering as a "good exchange" during which Pentagon officials updated them on their efforts in Afghanistan and beyond and took questions from faith leaders about the religious and moral implications of the military efforts.
The Rev. Clarence Newsome, dean of the Howard University School of Divinity in Washington, said it was the second meeting he had been invited to at the Pentagon in recent months. Wednesday's meeting included sessions with Rumsfeld, Deputy Secretary Paul Wolfowitz and other officials.
Newsome said he was struck by Rumsfeld's comments about the kinds of threats facing the nation and that they are not so much from one country against another but involve the possibility of transferring of weapons to lesser-known terrorists.
"Today the enemy is not all that visible or discernible or noticeable and yet is a very, very real threat and represents imminent danger," Newsome said in an interview.
The Most Rev. Frank T. Griswold, presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, said he left the meeting with "an enlarged sense of the complexities of the problems" facing military leaders in the war on terrorism, but he reasserted his opposition to possible war with Iraq.
"I still have the gravest reservations about a war, but I certainly was encouraged that some of the nuances and complexities that are so integral here are being included in the conversations" at the Pentagon, Griswold said.
Newsome and Griswold said faith leaders suggested that increased American concern for some of the problems of the world, such as the HIV/AIDS crisis in Africa, might help combat terrorism.
Griswold's sister churches in Africa are among the fastest-growing in the Anglican Communion, but he said a generation of AIDS orphans and militant strains of Islam threaten to destabilize the region and make it ripe for terrorists looking for recruits.
"I said I think we need to be aware of these sort of larger concerns," Griswold said, noting that defense officials seemed receptive to the religious leaders' suggestions.
Newsome said he hoped clergy could work together on the notion that survival is a necessity at a time when some terrorists are willing to die for a cause while killing others. He specifically suggested that U.S. religious leaders should meet with moderate Islamic leaders in Afghanistan.
"If at the very least we can reinforce our common belief that life is worth living, even when you're facing difficult times, you can go from there," he said.
Rabbi Joshua O. Haberman, rabbi emeritus of the Washington Hebrew Congregation, said he was struck by the information shared by defense officials about Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein's regime, especially reports of deplorable conditions for imprisoned children.
"The concern of the public has been largely with Saddam Hussein's threat to the world," said Haberman, president of the Foundation for Jewish Studies in Rockville, Md.
"What people are overlooking is the brutality, the atrocities he's committing meanwhile in Iraq."
When religious leaders asked Rumsfeld if poverty might be a factor in continuing terrorism, Haberman said the defense secretary acknowledged the impoverished populations of the world but noted that the Sept. 11 terrorists came from affluent families.
Some of the invited clergy said they appreciated the opportunity to hear firsthand from the defense officials.
"If the secretary of defense sees to it that bridges of communication be established, I want to cooperate," said Haberman.
Other participants included United Methodist Bishop Felton E. May of Baltimore-Washington, Prison Fellowship Chairman Chuck Colson, Michael Novak of the American Enterprise Institute, evangelical leader Leighton Ford and Washington Episcopal Bishop John Chane.
Defense Department officials could not be immediately reached for comment.
