Pastor: US creating huge mess in Iraq Sat, 29 Mar 2008 21:50:44
The Rev. J. Philip Wogaman US presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton's former pastor has described the United States' occupation of Iraq as a 'huge mess, Greek tragedy.'
"The irony is, we wound up providing the world with a lesson on the limits of empire. The result has been a huge mess, almost a Greek tragedy. We have stretched the American military and eroded American prestige," the Rev. J. Philip Wogaman said at Florida Southern College's annual Bible Symposium.
He said the notion of Iraq possessing weapons of mass destruction was 'a chimera,' and the US invaded the country only to ensure a stable supply of oil and demonstrate "the overwhelming capability of the American military."
When power is exercised to enhance the prestige and superiority of a nation and its leaders, 'it is an expression of idolatry, the worship of things less than God,' he said.
"The curse of the contemporary world is rampant henotheism, the worship only of one's own group or tribe," Wogaman added.
Wogaman, was pastor of Foundry United Methodist Church in Washington from 1992 to 2002.
He was one of the religious leaders who counseled President Clinton hours after his 1998 national speech in which he admitted to his relationship with Monica Lewinsky.
