Without dissecting the theological tenents and moral triggers for a “justified or Just War”, America carries a moral obligation as it pertains to the war in Iraq. Such obligation requires us to leave Iraq secure with hope for a future. Regardless of the plethora of errors committed in the onset of and for this war, the current sectarian violence and de facto civil war demand that we fix a situation that exists as a direct result of our engagement.

To leave Iraq today without creating the economic, political and security infrastructures necessary for success would exponentially increase our liability and compound our errors. Reconstruction after the Civil War, the Marshall Plan after World War II, and economic aid after numerous military excursions successfully employed the values of Justice and Reconciliation embedded in the American narrative.

We may not have had a legitimate moral imperative for war in Iraq. Today, we do have a moral imperative to stay in Iraq until we secure peace. A nation demonstrates its military prowess in war, its moral authority in advocating peace.

At the end of the day, our moral imperatives must drive us to advocate a foreign policy of justice. If we must take the lead on the war on terror, let us simultaneously take the lead on the war on poverty. If we are committed to eradicating Al Qaeda, let us be equally committed to eradicating AIDS. We went into Iraq with faulty intelligence; let us depart with righteous conviction after we heal and reconcile.

The American faith narrative repudiates torture under all circumstances and without exception. To acquiesce our moral underpinning in the name of security renders in the hands of our enemies the very victory they yearn. Our nation's faith community stands committed to a value system authenticated via mores and standards which stand without reproach, unconditionally and in all circumstances.

As a member of the steering committee of Evangelicals for Human Rights, I am troubled by evangelicals who embrace a Pro-Life platform yet refuse to address life issues outside the womb such as torture and cruel punishment. Some argue that water boarding and other techniques applied to non Americans does not violate the aforementioned commitment. Our values do not carry an American centric disclaimer. Application of our ethos must transcend boundaries and cultures.

The great biblical Golden rule and popularly embraced dictate tells us to do unto others what we would want done unto us. Such simplicity should guide us in our domestic, foreign and justice policies. Is torture ever justified? Are there any moral absolutes? Our some of our values beyond compromise?

Let the oracles of righteousness and justice articulate a message that protects our nation from terrorism. Not just physical but spiritual, moral and intellectual.

Nations launch wars, governments persecute, institutions reinforce hatred, but the children of God forgive. It is this very act that removes the grave clothes of bitterness, animosity and remorse while simultaneously exposing the vestiges of hope, faith and a new beginning.

The greatest single action any human can take upon this planet is the act of forgiveness. Nelson Mandela inviting his former captors to the his Presidential inauguration, Gandhi’s call to for Hindus and Muslims to reconcile, alongside many other extensions of this greatest of virtues, remind us that in the 21st Century, when war, terrorism, strife and hatred inundate every crevasse of our narrative, forgivers are scarce participants.

Accordingly, mature and balanced relationships at all levels: personal, corporate, bilateral, geopolitical, economic and ecclesiastical require forgiveness to exercise mercy in the presence of justice. Forgiveness without justice grants evil clemency. From the holocaust to Rwanda, from Darfur to Serbia, justice facilitates forgiveness where jurisprudence speaks on behalf of the innocent without acquitting evil.

Those who stand responsible for atrocities must receive the legal and moral consequences of such actions. Soon thereafter, the victims are called to forgive while the rest of us are admonished never to forget. Atrocities prove we are fallen creatures, imperfect and prone to cruelty. Forgiveness proves we are still children of a righteous God.

As Americans, we are both sexual and spiritual people. We carry the New Testament on Sunday Morning and our Viagra pills on Saturday afternoon. Even the Google searches speak of a nation torn between sex and spirituality as pornography and religion top the search engine queries in both the Red and Blue States.

American 21st Century living proposes a platform where both stand juxtaposed in perfect equilibrium. Although the Europeans claim the patent on sexual liberation and openness, our sexual mores incorporate a cosmic and religious thread that facilitates a healthy discipline in order to prevent what all Americans reject in respect to all activities or philosophies; extremes. Are we as a society sexually oppressed? I would rather speculate that we err on the side of sexual caution.

As we historically contextualize the rise and fall of great empires, one common factor resonates throughout; the lack of self-control particularly in the area of sexual conduct.
Is sex outside of marriage a sin? Yes. Sex outside of marriage speaks of the most intimate of human relationships without institutional and divine framework necessary for efficacy.

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Google the word Pride and you will find close to 7 million entries. Extrapolate company names, books, productions and works of art from the list and the digital portal affirms the myriad of applications that accompany and embrace the womb of sinfulness.

Pride is not just an emotion or as Thomas Aquinas stated in Summa Theologica, the root of every sin. Pride is the great motivator for 21st Century success and accomplishment. While humility lays dormant hidden in the closet of archaic virtues; Pride strides down the catway as a model for all to admire.

Pride did not emerge from the idea we call America but, undoubtedly, this anti-virtue is as American as apple pie. Pride embraced slavery, while humility gave birth to abolition. Pride fills the coffers while humility weeps for the children in Darfur, Iraq and the third world. Pride tortures, while humility applies justice. Pride spends, while humility shares. Pride looks inward and says believe in yourself. Humility looks upward and says, “Believe in something greater than self”. Pride walks upright, shoulders back, and eyes straight, while humility kneels down, head inclined and ears open to advice. Pride seeks recognition, while humility seeks righteousness.

Pride stems from the union of success and self-accreditation. However, pride never stands alone. Pride engages in flirtatious activity with envy, gluttony, lust, anger, greed and sloth, yet arrogance always seems to draw closest.

Why do great empires and the vast majority of corporations and relationships fail? Pride. Pride walks down the runway of the 21st century human stage, meanwhile humility stands poised to appear at the precise moment where arrogance falls, pride collapses and Grace renders a silent introduction.