On Sunday, Pope Benedict XVI visited the Basilica of St. Francis to commemorate the 800th Anniversary of the conversion of Francis. Before praying the Angelus at the Basilica, Benedict spoke about the conflicts taking place in the world today, especially the conflicts in the Middle East.

"I consider it my duty to launch from here an urgent and heartfelt appeal for all the armed conflicts bloodying the earth to cease, for arms to fall silent and everywhere for hatred to give way to love, offense to forgiveness and discord to union.

"Here we feel the spiritual presence of all those who weep, suffer and die because of war and its tragic consequences, in all parts of the world, Our thoughts go out particularly to the Holy Land, so beloved by St. Francis, to Iraq, to Lebanon, to the entire Middle East. The peoples of those countries know, and have long known, the horrors of combat, of terrorism, of blind violence, the illusion that force can resolve conflicts, the refusal to listen to the other's reasons and to do them justice. Only responsible and sincere dialogue, supported by the generous support of the international community, can put an end to so much pain and restore life and dignity to individuals, institutions and peoples.

"May St. Francis, man of peace, obtain for us from the Lord an increase in the number of people ready to become 'instruments of His peace,' through the thousand small acts of everyday life. May those in positions of responsibility be animated by a passionate love for peace and by an indomitable will to achieve it, seeking appropriate means to that end."

Putin: U.S. has triggered new arms race

Disparaging international law and norms and opinion leaves the door wide open for folks like Putin to claim justification for their actions. Not too surprising that ignoring international norms will tend to erode them. (The Bush doctrine of preventive war also gives other nations well-founded reason to fear being attacked, which is an actual justification for their actions.)

We must demand that the next president clearly reverse the policy of unilateralism and preventative war. We need international norms and law to help keep folks like Putin (and our own government) in check.

IPS News reports that Secretary of State Condeleezza Rice has appointed Eliot A. Cohen as State Department Counselor.

In a move that has surprised many foreign policy analysts here, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has appointed a prominent neo-conservative hawk and leading champion of the Iraq war to the post of State Department Counselor.

Eliot A. Cohen, who teaches military history at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) here and has also served on the Pentagon's Defence Policy Board (DPB) since 2001, will take up the position next month that was left vacant late last year by Rice's long-time confidant and "realist" thinker, Philip Zelikow.

A close friend and protege of former Secretary of Defence Paul Wolfowitz and advisory board member of the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), Cohen most recently led the harsh neo-conservative attack on the bipartisan Iraq Study Group (ISG), co-chaired by former Secretary of State James Baker and former Democratic Rep. Lee Hamilton.

Like his fellow-neo-cons, he was particularly scathing about its recommendations for Washington to directly engage Syria and Iran and revive the Israeli-Palestinian peace process -- recommendations which Rice herself has explicitly endorsed in the last few weeks.

Given Cohen's hawkish ideals, and his public thoughts about the Iraq Study Group that attempted to provide positive solutions to our Iraq problem, it seems forboding that Rice appointed him. What are they getting ready to stir up now?

Wounded Soldiers Face Neglect at Walter Reed Medical Center - The common perception of Walter Reed is of a surgical hospital that shines as the crown jewel of military medicine. But 5 1/2 years of sustained combat have transformed the venerable 113-acre institution into something else entirely -- a holding ground for physically and psychologically damaged outpatients. But while the hospital is a place of scrubbed-down order and daily miracles, with medical advances saving more soldiers than ever, the outpatients in the Other Walter Reed encounter a messy bureaucratic battlefield nearly as chaotic as the real battlefields they faced overseas. [Catholic Media Report]

I commented on our old site, here, that one of our Presidential Candidates, Senator Sam Brownback, had voted multiple times in the Senate against increasing funding for healthcare for returning war veterans. I am certain others voted against increased funding as well. They should be held accountable for that as they pursue future political office; whether the White House or a return to their current elective office

This is a travesty, though, that cannot wait until the next election to be righted. It has to be addressed now. First, it is a grave injustice to send our young people off to war, while so many others make no sacrifices to support this war; and while some (*cough* Halliburton *cough*, for example) even profit greatly off this war we're making our young citizens fight. Then, when they return, we do not provide them with the medical and psychological resources they need to minimize the impact of the war on them and return them, as much as possible, to a normal life.

The word is out. The Senate will not follow the House in passing a non-binding resolution opposing troop increases in Iraq.

from Reuters...

Republicans stopped the Senate on Saturday from considering a resolution denouncing President George W. Bush's Iraq troop buildup that the U.S. House of Representatives passed the day before.

For the second time in two weeks, the Senate voted not to debate a non-binding measure that would repudiate Bush's recent decision to send 21,500 more troops to Iraq. Democrats wanted to debate the measure but failed to overcome Republican resistance, although there was less resistance this time.

The vote was 56 in favor and 34 against. Under Senate rules, 60 votes were needed to bring the resolution to the floor for debate. Before the vote, Democrats argued in vain for minority Republicans to break with Bush and support taking up the measure.

But Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat, said it was significant that a majority of senators, including seven Republicans, had voted for the debate.

"The majority in the U.S. Senate just voted against the escalation of the war in Iraq," he said.

The significant part about today's decision in the Senate was not that any Senator voted against the resolution. I think the jury is still out on the prudence of the resolution and so cannot overly-criticize anyone in the Senate who opposes it. The significant part about today's decision was that Senators voted against even debating the resolution.

I risk sounding like an Edwards campaigner. After all, I have already come to the defense of his campaign against the malicious attack from the Catholic League. I want it on record that Catholics for Democracy has not made an endorsement decision; nor, for that matter, even begun discussion around an endorsement for a Presidential candidate (it's waaaaayyyyy too early to begin endorsing candidates). I, myself, am holding back to study the policy initiatives of the respective candidates (slow in coming, by the way) and assess their ability to follow through with those initiatives.

Having said that, John Edwards must have been reading my blog at CfD. I had taken a position on whether and how we withdraw from Iraq. See this blog post in the archive: www.catholicsfordemocracy.org/archive/node/7355.

Check out this article at The Hill: Edwards stakes out his turf on Iraq policy. The article quotes John Edwards as saying:

"I believe we need to end the war in Iraq, but I believe it should be done in an orderly way, a smart way, so that we increase the chances of stability as we’re leaving,” Edwards told reporters. “So I’m not for immediate and total withdrawal."

Both issues -- pulling out of Iraq and ensuring we do not leave Iraqis' society in chaos after having invaded their country -- are very important and morally required. I am happy to see a Presidential candidate thinking about these issues and looking to achieve both objectives.