Members of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in Edinburgh wish to express their dismay at the efforts currently being made by the Governments of the USA and the UK to rally support for military intervention in Iraq. We appreciate that, because of our well-known peace testimony, this may be dismissed as a predictable reaction to which no importance need be attached. We would respectfully suggest, however, that resort to military methods in this situation is peculiarly misguided from
almost any point of view. 

Friends have a long-standing connection with educational work in the Middle East, and we are painfully aware of the suffering endured in particular by the Palestinian people. The cycle of violence in Israel/Palestine is daunting in the extreme, but we are encouraged by the resilient efforts of peace-minded organisations there to foster reconciliation and lay the foundations for a just settlement. The last thing that these courageous people need is a war on their borders, which is bound to heighten tensions and harden attitudes.

The proposed military action is bound to kill and maim many people, and this will  inevitably strengthen anti-westem resentment in the region, thus undermining the  authority of any government which can be seen as in any degree friendly to the USA  and the UK. Such resentment is already a serious obstacle to countering the very real threat to the West from militant no'n-govemmental groups, like the one that mounted the attacks on New York and Washington. The hugely expensive military organisation developed by the USA is manifestly irrelevant to any defence against this kind of attack, and a complete reassessment of security needs is overdue.

While efforts by the government of Iraq to rival the nuclear powers in their weaponry are deplorable, it is hardly surprising that they should do so when these powers have so blatantly disregarded the unanimous judgement of the International Court of Justice that serious negotiations for nuclear disarmament should be begun forthwith. In the context of such negotiations, the hand of UN weapons inspectors would be strengthened immensely.

The whole world needs to address the acute environmental challenges that face it, and resort to military methods is at best a distraction from this task. More than half a century ago the UN Charter spoke of freeing mankind from the scourge of war. We cannot afford to lose sight of this commitment.

Sara Davies, Nicolas Hawkes 
Co-Clerks, Central Edinburgh Preparative Meeting 

David Turner
Acting Clerk, South Edinburgh   Preparative Meeting