Churches call for U.S. to pull out of Afghanistan

WASHINGTON (RNS) As President Obama prepared plans to bring a limited
number of U.S. troops home from Afghanistan, a group of 40 religious
leaders called for the president to "bring the war in Afghanistan to an
end."

Signers of an open letter, including high-profile religious leaders
like Sojourners founder Jim Wallis, expressed frustration over the
"deteriorating" state of affairs in Afghanistan and the rising military
and civilian death toll, saying "the military situation is at best a
stalemate."

The Tuesday (June 21) letter acknowledged that "legitimate ethical
and moral issues are at stake" in Afghanistan, including U.S. national
security and women's rights, but said "there is a better way than war to
address these important issues."