The Truth Commission on Conscience in War was created to address moral dilemmas for members of the U. S. Armed Services created by current regulations governing Conscientious Objection. It seeks to provide greater protection for religious freedom and the exercise of moral conscience in war and to educate the public about moral injury.
Excerpts:
"Forcing service members to act against their own moral consciences denies them their religious freedom, a right of conscience the Supreme Court extended in 1971 to those whose moral conscience is not religiously based."
"Moral injury comes from "perpetrating, failing to prevent, or bearing witness to acts that transgress deeply held moral beliefs and expectations." The long-term impact can be "emotionally, psychologically, behaviorally, spiritually, and socially" devastating, sometimes lasting an entire lifetime. Or the impact of moral injury can foster internal conflict and self-condemnation so severe that their burdens become intolerable and lead to suicide."
The Truth Commission on Conscience in War was created to address moral dilemmas for members of the U. S. Armed Services created by current regulations governing Conscientious Objection. It seeks to provide greater protection for religious freedom and the exercise of moral conscience in war and to educate the public about moral injury.
The Report of this Truth Commission on Conscience in War is issued as a result of:
• A public hearing March 21, 2010, at the Riverside Church, NY, that received testimony from veterans, a Gold Star mother, and expert witnesses on just war, the law, moral injury, and psychiatry, each of whom examined U.S. military regulations for Conscientious Objection that require objection to "war in any form,"
• A consultation March 22, 2010, at the Riverside Church among testifiers and commissioners in light of testimony from the public hearing and additional information about military regulations, and
• Conversations from March to September 2010 among commissioners, testifiers and their communities about moral conscience in war and religious and moral criteria for just war and international agreements on the conduct of war that uphold moral conscience.
Recommendations:
To Our Nation’s Leaders
Revision of current U.S. military regulations governing Conscientious Objection to assure greater protection for religious freedom and moral conscience in war through the right to object to a particular war.
To Religious and Community Leaders
Education of our larger communities about criteria governing the moral conduct of war, about the needs of veterans and their families, including healing moral injury, and about the importance of moral conscience in war.
To Our Communities
Education about and support services to address moral injury and other needs of those serving in the U.S. military and veterans of military service and their families.
STATEMENT OF NEED FOR THIS TRUTH COMMISSION
In his December 2009 acceptance speech for the Nobel Peace Prize, President Barack H. Obama used criteria of just war to defend the rare necessity of war. Virtually every religious and philosophic tradition provides explicit guidelines for the moral conduct of war.
Western ideas of just war are grounded in Jewish, Christian, Muslim, and philosophical traditions and inform United Nations principles on the conduct of war, such as the Nuremberg Principles. To be regarded as just, a war must pass all the following criteria:
• It must be defensive, the principle of just cause;
• It must be declared by a competent authority (Congress has not declared a war since 1941);
• It must have the right intention to serve justice and lead to peace;
• It must have a chance to succeed in its intentions;
• It must uphold non-combatant immunity by protecting civilians;
• It must be a last resort after all other measures to resolve a conflict have been utilized; and
• It must be proportional and result in more good than harm.
THE RELIGIOUS AND MORAL DILEMMAS
Military regulations in the United States have long recognized an individual’s right to refuse military service for reasons of faith or conscience. President Obama’s focus on the moral justification of war upholds the military practice that trains members of the armed forces in the principles of just war, both in basic training and at the war colleges.
They are told that in war, especially, keeping a moral compass is crucial. They are expected to exercise individual moral conscience in war as defined in Nuremberg Principle IV, which states, "The fact that a person acted pursuant to order of his Government or of a superior does not relieve him from responsibility under international law, provided a moral choice was in fact possible to him."
However, current U.S. military regulations governing Conscientious Objection (CO) require objection to "war in any form." This requirement creates a major, irresolvable conflict. It denies freedom of religious practice and the exercise of moral conscience to those serving in the military who object to a particular war based on the moral criteria of just war, which the military itself teaches and upholds as important.
What the military teaches, it also punishes. Those who oppose a particular war have no legal basis for refusing to deploy, even if they believe participation implicates them in an immoral war or in war crimes. Instead, they face sanctions, and even court martial and prison for their refusal to serve. In other words, soldiers are taught to use moral discrimination in war, but they have to serve in all wars they are called on to fight, regardless of their moral evaluation of that war.
The United States takes pride in the integrity, loyalty to duty, love of country, and willingness to sacrifice of all who serve in the armed forces. To serve their country in war, members of the military should not be required to sacrifice their moral consciences and religious freedom.
THE IMPACT OF OUTDATED REGULATIONS: MORAL INJURY
The current regulations governing Conscientious Objection were written at the time of the Vietnam War’s draft and have never been revised. The current suffering and moral dilemmas of the service men and women who morally object to the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars are evidenced in the large number of those in military service who have refused deployment, are in prison, have been dishonorably discharged, or have committed suicide. In addition to unprecedented suicide rates among active duty military, Veteran suicides, 6,000 a year or twenty percent of U.S. suicides have taken more American lives than the Afghanistan and Iraq wars themselves. Tragically, eighteen veterans a day kill themselves, and from 2005-2007, the rate among younger veterans rose 26%. Some of these deaths, perhaps a substantial number of them, occur because people are forced to fight wars they believe are morally wrong.
When people in military service are forced to fight a war that violates their moral consciences, the aftermath can be severe. Indeed, new research is showing that war can bring long-lasting moral harm to veterans. VA clinical psychologists have identified a previously untreated and still rarely addressed hidden wound of war called "moral injury." Moral injury comes from "perpetrating, failing to prevent, or bearing witness to acts that transgress deeply held moral beliefs and expectations." The long-term impact can be "emotionally, psychologically, behaviorally, spiritually, and socially" devastating, sometimes lasting an entire lifetime. Or the impact of moral injury can foster internal conflict and self-condemnation so severe that their burdens become intolerable and lead to suicide.
The formation of ethical sensibilities and the freedom to exercise moral choice are sacred dimensions of faith. Hence, religious communities must also take responsibility for what they teach about the moral conduct of war, become educated in and involved with healing the impact of current CO policies, and support expanding the right to moral conscience in war. As VA clinical studies indicate, the support and understanding of communities willing to listen to veterans experiencing moral injuries, to hear their confessions, and to help them heal is crucial to their recovery. Healing is crucial, but prevention of such injury is also of utmost importance.
Forcing service members to act against their own moral consciences denies them their religious freedom, a right of conscience the Supreme Court extended in 1971 to those whose moral conscience is not religiously based. In a December 27, 2009, letter to President Obama, the Truth Commission’s Host, retired Army Chaplain (Colonel) Rev. Herman Keizer, Jr., Former Chair, National Conference on Ministry to the Armed Forces America, noted:
We do not honor the conscience of those we train ... Conscientious Objection only acknowledges the conscience of those who object to all wars and not those who object to a specific conflict. ...This is the dilemma faced by every soldier who holds to the "Just War" tradition. In my 34 years as a chaplain, I have seen injustice done to many soldiers who did not object to war, but objected to Viet Nam and now Iraq. When members of the U.S. Armed Forces are called up to war, they must be free to exercise faith and to heed moral conscience.
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The full report of the Commission will be released this coming Veterans Day, November 11, 2010 at:
National City Christian Church
5 Thomas Circle Northwest
Washington D.C., District of Columbia 20005
About the event: On Veterans Day 2010, the Truth Commission on Conscience in War will release its Final Report, including a set of recommendations concerning moral and religious conscience in war. Sign up on the the Truth Commission's email list to receive notifications about the release of the Final Report - including news about the official report release event in Washington, DC.
How can I help?
* Make a donation to support this work.
* Recruit your congregation or organization as a co-sponsor.
* Use videos and other resources from this website to host discussions in your community on moral conscience in war and conscientious objection.
* Share the Commission Report with civic, political and religious leaders in your area – following the report’s release in November 2010.
Visit the site here: Truth Commission on Conscience in War
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I recommend that you take the time to visit the site and view the videos of those who testified - on all sides of the issue. It's powerful stuff.
-diamondheart