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The following statement by members of the Peace Council was sent to the Associated Press and to other media on October 2, 2002. The statement was signed by Swami Agnivesh, Dr. Saleha S. Mahmood-Abedin, Dr. Dalil Boubakeur, Dr. Elise Boulding, Rev. Marcus Braybrooke, Swami Chidananda Saraswati, Sr. Joan Chittister, osb, Prof. Chung Hyun-Kyung, Ven. Dhammananda Samaneri, Samdech Preah Maha Ghosananda, H.H. Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama, Fr. Thomas Keating, ocso, Mrs. Máiread Maguire, Dr. Chandra Muzaffar, Most Rev. Samuel Ruiz-García, and Most Rev. Desmond M. Tutu:

We members of the interfaith and international Peace Council are opposed to wars of all kinds on moral, spiritual, and practical grounds. Similarly, a war between the United States and Iraq would do nothing to resolve the tensions in that region in the long run. It will make them worse. The costs in human suffering – especially for the women and children of Iraq – would be overwhelming.

The situation is very complex and there is certainly no guarantee that a war against Iraq will bring stability and security to either Iraq or the United States. On the contrary, a war would fuel frustration, extremism, and fanaticism, and may even create new blocs that would increase the likelihood of continuing violence and terrorism.

We call upon our fellow members of the world community to make every effort to halt such a war before it begins, through creative diplomacy and non-violent means, and to work peacefully together to remove the root causes of war and terrorism.