Seamless Garment Network Statement on War in Afghanistan

October 10, 2001

The Seamless Garment Network stands opposed to all forms of violence. We have condemned the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York City and Washington, DC, and we have called for bringing those responsible to justice through an international tribunal. We have also advocated using international bodies, such as the United Nations, to work to eliminate the root causes of terrorism.

On Oct. 7, the United States Government and a few of its allies began a war of retaliation against Afghanistan, dropping bombs that are claiming the lives of the innocent in a destitute nation.

Instead of working to eliminate terrorism through nonviolence and through works of justice, the U.S.-led coalition has opted to maintain the cycle of violence with a devastating bombing campaign.

The commanders of the war effort assure us only military and terrorist targets are being hit, but we know better. On Oct. 9, four U.N. workers engaged in an effort to remove land mines in Afghanistan, were killed by a wayward bomb. As in all modern wars, it is the civilians who are in harm's way as Afghanistan's infrastructure is being destroyed by bombs with no ability to distinguish terrorists from children.

Once again, the Seamless Garment Network condemns violence. We say no to the war against Afghanistan. We challenge our world leaders to seek creative solutions to conflict.

War is not the answer. Nonviolence is the only moral choice in our world today. We remember the words of the late Martin Luther King, Jr.: "The choice today is no longer between violence and nonviolence. It is either nonviolence or nonexistence."

The Seamless Garment Network is a coalition of individuals and organizations committed to the protection of life which is threatened in today's world by war, abortion, poverty, racism, the arms race, the death penalty, and euthanasia. We believe that these issues are linked under a consistent ethic of life. We challenge those working on some or all of these issues to maintain a cooperative spirit of peace, reconciliation, and respect in protecting the unprotected.

Mary Rider
SGN Executive Director
www.seeamless-garment.org
PO Box 792
Garner, NC 27529
(919) 779-1912
sent by: Rose Evans, Secretary, with approval of Ex. Comm.