Jesuit journal warns against abrupt military pullout from Iraq

Published: 2003-12-04

ROME (CNS) -- An influential Jesuit journal cautioned against an abrupt pullout of foreign soldiers from Iraq, saying the country's citizens should not be abandoned at a moment of crisis. But the magazine said the type of military and reconstruction intervention in Iraq should change, with more cooperation between the United States and the United Nations and more involvement by other countries. The comments came in an article in the Dec. 6 issue of La Civilta Cattolica (Catholic Civilization), whose contents are reviewed at the Vatican prior to publication. In the months leading up to the Iraqi war, the magazine was one of the sharpest critics of the U.S.-led invasion. The latest article reviewed reaction in Italy to a suicide bombing of an Italian military complex in An Nasiriyah, Iraq, which left 17 soldiers and more than 15 others dead. Despite strong objections to the initial war effort among Italians, most political parties supported a continued Italian military presence to help restore order in the country.

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