One of the blogs that I read is called Friar at Large written by Fr. Dennis Tamburello, OFM. Fr. Dennis has a thoughtful article written last week with some very important links to official documents of the Catholic Church in the United States. Today as I listened to Dr. Robert Gates, Defense Secretary and our delusional President’s Weekly Radio Address I was struck by just how far out of touch with reality both of these men are. I’ll give both men the benefit of the doubt and not assume they are evil, but I will not assume that their policies are not inherently evil and misguided. Over four years ago President Bush received an authorization to use force to disarm Saddam Hussein. Saddam was incorrectly deemed to be in possession of weapons of mass destruction.
Fast forward four years, Saddam is removed from power and recently executed and Mr. Bush still hasn’t had enough blood and gore. Only a very few wealthy individuals have benefited from the conflict. But, this is not enough to satiate Mr. Bush and his supporters. They have single handedly broken the back of our military. They have exposed thousands of our soldiers, sailors, marines, national guardsmena and their reserve elements to war and war preparation without adequate protection. Those who have been unfortunate to have been killed or wounded have received little if any thanks and/or rehabilitation. Until the recent congressional election tipped the legislative balance of power there was little oversight of this administration. Mr. Bush continues to play politics and blame the Democrats for endangering our army with their recently passed supplemental appropriation bill that fully funds the troops so they can continue to kill and be killed, maimed and wounded.
The damn Democrats have the audacity to introduce oversight even if somewhat minuscule. It ain’t the Democrats who are playing politics Mr. Bush. It’s you. You don’t get it. In November, American voters went to the polls and removed Republican majorities from both houses of Congress because they’ve had enough of your misguided party’s policies. Finally, we have congressional oversight of illegal activities that run counter to Christian and United States Constitutional principles. Thousands of Americans have been betrayed by their own country during your watch. Thousands of American voices are crying in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and other natural disasters. Millions of Americans have no health care because you sold out to special interests. Your war on terror is nothing but terror for most of the world including your own countrymen. In Iraq alone the spending has topped 400 billion dollars. Imagine how much good could have been wrought by that amount of money if spent of health care, food and good will. Click here for more details.
It isn’t just the Democrats, a.k.a. the American people who’ve had enough of your war. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops have issued a statement decrying the policy and calling for a quick end to the hostilities. The bishops contend that the time for shrill debate has ended. No less than ninety-five bishops from your own church have repented of their original endorsement of this tragedy. Lent is a time of renewal and reconciliation and I continue to hope and pray that President Bush and his policies experience a metanoia.