Afghan war cannot be justified, says Scottish church http://www.irna.ir/ENNewsShow.aspx?NID=30413651&SRCH=1

Leading representatives of the Church of Scotland have called for an end to the war in Afghanistan, and for UK troops to be called home as soon as possible.  The appeal was made by the Church and Society Council at the general assembly, the national decision-making body, of Presbyterian denominational church, in Edinburgh. 'In 2002 the Church said the war in Afghanistan could only be justified if it met the criteria of legitimacy, liable to succeed, proportional in its implementation and limited in its effect on non combatants,' said the council's convenor Ian Galloway. 

'Our view is that this war fails on all four counts and should ended now. These are political not military failures however, and so we recognise that there is a real need for those soldiers in Afghanistan to be supported and cared for including by the valuable work of chaplains.” Galloway said.Church leaders reviewed the four questions set out in 2002 as being benchmarks for a 'just war' in a report written under the banner of Action of Churches Together Scotland. 

“Just war theory seeks to limit conflict and violence. Other Christians argue that the message of the Gospel points towards active nonviolence rather than an accommodation to war,” it said. The Church of Scotland traces its roots back to the beginnings of Christianity in Scotland. According to the latest national census in 2001, some 42% of the Scottish population claim some form of allegiance to the church.