Anglican Leader Blasts US Over Iraq

Rowan Williams, the archbishop of Canterbury, criticized the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in an interview published Sunday, saying it was worse than the British land grabs of the colonial era.

The spiritual leader of the Church of England and the Anglican Communion described the situation in Iraq as the "the worst of all worlds," and compared it to the time when Britain was at the height of its imperial power.

"It is one thing to take over a territory and even pour energy and resources into administrating it and normalizing it," said Williams. "Rightly or wrongly, that's what the British Empire did - in India for example."

"It's another thing to go in on the assumption that a quick burst of violent action will somehow clear the decks and that you can move on and other people will put back together - Iraq, for example," he told the Muslim lifestyle magazine Emel.

A long-standing critic of the Iraq war, Williams has said the U.S. lost the widespread moral support it enjoyed worldwide in the wake of the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington on Sept. 11, 2001.

Your Grace,

You're handling so wonderfully the task God has ACTUALLY entrusted into your hands, that we're deeply grateful you took time out from your stellar performance as Archbishop of Canterbury to tell us how we're doing in the War on Terror.

You keep watching how Iraq goes, and we'll just sit back and watch you continue your insightful sorting out of the issues confronting the American Province of your Church . . . speaking of "the worst of all worlds."

This archbishop is a disgrace to his religion and his church. A more complete writeup on this interview can be found at the TimesOnline - http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article2937068.ece

In addition to his remarks on the Iraq war, he pours contempts on the ideals of the pilgrims who founded the original American colonies:

‘He said the crisis was caused not just by America’s actions but also by its misguided sense of its own mission. He poured scorn on the “chosen nation myth of America, meaning that what happens in America is very much at the heart of God’s purpose for humanity”.’

The pilgrims who came here were God-fearing people who came here to try to create “a city on the hill” - as well as to escape from religious oppression from the Church of England. The archbishop should ask himself just why the pilgrims felt such incredible motivation to flee from England, make the perilous journey across the ocean, and set up settlements in a wilderness.

America is the oldest democracy in the modern world, where freedom of religion could be practiced. The ideals that led to its creation should be admired, not scorned by this archbishop.

As far as Iraq goes, the archbishop is way out of line when he says America goes in “on the assumption that a quick burst of violent action will somehow clear the decks and that you can move on and other people will put it back together — Iraq, for example.”

He contrasts this with the British approach: “It is one thing to take over a territory and then pour energy and resources into administering it and normalising it.”

So what does he think the Americans have been doing in Iraq? Like pouring billions of dollars into building up the infrastructure and the political process for the last four years?

Either this archbishop is incredibly ignorant or he is just filled with nastiness and venom towards America. I can’t imagine such irresponsible statements coming from the Pope for example, whose pronouncements are very circumspect, carefully reasoned and thought-out, with full awareness of his responsibilities as a religious leader.

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