ST. LOUIS: A man of Middle Eastern descent cradled a child in his arms at the foot of the altar at the Pilgrim Congregational Church on Union Boulevard last Saturday afternoon.

At the pulpit, a young woman asked those gathered to close their eyes and ask themselves what they could do to stop the imminent U.S. attack against Iraq.

The moment of silence came at the end of an anti war rally attended by more 2,000 people. Opponents of the Bush administration’s foreign policy filled every pew, including those in the balcony, where a dim winter’s light filtered through a stain-glassed window that depicted the image of Jesus Christ.

Those who came to this house of worship represented a diverse cross-section of the American public; people of all faiths, races and creeds. They crowded the aisles, sat on floor, jammed the vestibule, and stood out in the cold on the sidewalk. All of them shared one thing in common: a determination to stop the Bush administration’s unilateral and unprecedented decision to wage a preemptive, unprovoked war.

Instead of War, a local anti-war organization (http://www. Insteadofwar.org), sponsored the event, which coincided with peace rallies, marches and demonstrations by millions of people across the globe. Despite the moment of silence, the mood of the those gathered in St. Louis seemed more defiant than solemn. The determination and solidarity harkened back to the militant civil rights and anti-Vietnam War movements of the 1960s. After the rally, a radical splinter group of approximately 500 demonstrators took to the streets of St. Louis in a spontaneous and unauthorized march. Police did nothing to stop the demonstrators and no arrests were made. But the burgeoning anti-war movement here is already organizing training sessions in civil disobedience should war break out.

On Saturday, the crowd listened to passionate speeches given by the Rev. C. Skully Stikes, a United Methodist minister from St. Louis and Henry Nicholas of Philadelphia, president of the National Union of Health Care Employees, an AFL-CIO affiliated union.

Nicholas, a U.S. Navy veteran and labor organizer since 1959, did not mince words, when he addressed the audience. "The framers of the Declaration of Independence said to us, and I quote: 'When this government no longer represents the wishes of the people it is the duty of the people to change their government.’" The audience responded to the recitation with thunderous applause and a standing ovation.

"For the first time in history, we meet worldwide, joined with one vision, with one understanding and with one commitment and that commitment is there should not be this unjust war. We want peace in our time," Nicholas said. "It is our duty to rescue our people from a government that would take us in the wrong direction. We must not be manipulated into a vision that tries to make the American people feel that their only way out is to support this unjust war. I believe from the bottom of my heart that this war is about oil."

The union leader then broadened his criticism to include the Bush administration’s negligent domestic policies. He accused the administration of misappropriating tax dollars to benefit the rich at the expense of poor and working-class Americans. "People right here in this city go to bed homeless and hungry," Nicholas said. "The war will not change those conditions." He pointed out that under the Bush administration there has been a loss of 1.7 million jobs in the United States in less than two years. Moreover, pension funds, on which the elderly depend, have been gutted because of the decline in the capitalist stock market; and despite the vast wealth of this nation, many Americans receive inadequate health care, while billions of dollars are being wasted on war preparations.

"Human values must out weigh military claims," said Stikes, the United Methodist minister. "The militarization of society in the world must be challenged and stopped. We must insist on complete disarmament of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons under strict and effective international control.

There are some who would argue that some military actions are just, however, this war would not be a just war" Stikes added. "No proof has been provided that Iraq has nuclear weapons aimed at the United States or troops massed at its borders (or that it) has the deliberate capability of the weapons of mass destruction. No case can be made that a war against Iraq is justified for the defense of the United States. Further, Iraq’s neighbors are not calling for assistance from the United States," he added.

"This matter can and should be handled by the United Nations. No member nation has a right to take unilateral military action without the approval of the U.N. Security Council. Without Security Council approval, the United States would stand in violation of international law. The administration’s proposed attack is essentially a unilateral effort that uses as its rationale Iraq’s non compliance with U.N. weapons inspectors. Arab and European governments strongly oppose the invasion of Iraq. Their views cannot and should not be disregarded.

"A preemptive war presents a major and dangerous change in U.S. foreign policy It also sets a terrible precedent for other nations.

"The plight of Iraqis and the unnecessary deaths of hundreds of thousands of Iraqis over past 12 years of sanctions weighs heavy on our hearts. We need to help all people of the world in loving actions not in destructive actions. I am for peace. We are for peace. We must not let blind and deceitful tongues lead us into war."

– C D Stelzer

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