Archbishop calls for honesty on all sides

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, issues a warning to pro-war politicians today that they must tell the truth about their motives in the impending conflict – and again raises questions about the role that oil is playing in the crisis.

In an article in today's Independent, the Archbishop calls for a new honesty. Those pressing for war must own up to the political realities behind their high moral rhetoric about liberating the people of Iraq. He writes: "Those who are confident of the moral case for war need to be asking: 'Will the conflict and its aftermath reveal that we are after all concerned only about securing Western interests, about oil and influence?'"

Although Dr Williams does not mention Tony Blair and George Bush by name, his message to the two leaders is clear. He suggests that a key test of their good faith will be whether they are prepared to engage in finding post-war solutions not just in Iraq but also in Palestine. They need now to ask, he says: "Are we really committed to the long costly job of reconstruction and justice for all the peoples of the region?"

But the Archbishop also raises questions for those who are against war, suggesting that some protesters may be avoiding moral responsibility for remedying appalling suffering and injustice in Iraq. He writes: "Those whose moral instinct prompts them the other way have some self-questioning to do as well. They need to be asking: 'Are we afraid of the risks, even the guilt, involved in the use of force? Are we shrinking from the challenge of remedying terrible injustice? Are we projecting evil and selfishness onto the convenient scapegoat of the USA or our government – caricaturing their motives because hanging onto our own innocence and sense of superiority is just another way of staying on top of the heap?' Christians have a duty to ask themselves these questions and to have Christian answers for them."

Moments of crisis and breakdown, he says, are "when we tend to find what we're made of". Warning against the danger of accepting "the assumptions of the enemy", he says: "Never mind the actual arguments for and against war; we know them pretty well by now." The key question is whether all parties to the debate are being honest.