Use War To Get Peace?

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Permalink Reply by Willie on March 6, 2008 at 4:11pm

"peace must be both the goal and the strategy" is one of the most important lesson we can learn.

If war is viewed as a legitimate tool, leaders will continue to find ways to motivate or scare people into wars.

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Permalink Reply by jason on March 7, 2008 at 11:25am

I don't know if there was ever a war that didn't have peace as the stated goal.
I think this is why we need to talk about the goal and realize we don't need war to get there.

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Permalink Reply by jason on April 10, 2008 at 4:46pm

In terms of Iraq, the goal of a democratic and open Middle East is a good one, but I don't agree with any strategy that involves:

lying to the American people in order to go to war

using violence as a political tool

doing anything that leads to 5 million people being displaced from their homes

using a strategy called "shock and awe" where most of the people who were shocked, killed and wounded were civilians.

etc....

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Permalink Reply by James Scott on May 10, 2008 at 6:47pm

This is where Bush is wrong. He usually says people who disagree with his strategies don't support a free and democratic Middle East. He is wrong to assume that his violent strategies are the only strategies for achieving the stated goal.

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Permalink Reply by jason on August 2, 2008 at 2:33pm

This strategy of using war to get peace is once again being raised as the Bush Administration is looking for reasons to attack Iran.

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Permalink Reply by Nathan Andover on May 3, 2008 at 12:51pm

It is sad to think that one day people might look back on Bush as a good President becasue he changed the Middle East - assuming Iraq will one day get on its feet and use its huge oil wealth to build a competent country. This is like people looking back on the American expansion into the West as a good thing as long as we ignore what happened to the native americans. We all want to see legitimate governments, fair markets, and healthy environments in the Middle East and all over the world, but the death and destruction of the Iraq occupation has been a terrible strategy for getting there.

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Permalink Reply by Jessica on February 17, 2009 at 5:38pm

"You can bomb the world into pieces, but you can't bomb it into to peace." Michael Franti.

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Permalink Reply by James Scott on May 15, 2009 at 5:19pm

I like that quote

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Permalink Reply by G Alexander McDonell on February 16, 2010 at 3:51am

So we need to fight peacefully. Do you know how to do it?

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Permalink Reply by paul on February 16, 2010 at 2:02pm

I think it starts with open communication where ideas can spread freely. If people only hear about the need for war, then that is what they will probably support.

Second, I think it is important to get people to take action in non-violent ways. I think the most important action is to elect good leaders who support peaceful policies, but we also need people who take action by exposing illegal activites, helping the poor, creating beautiful art and music, inventing sustainable technology, teaching others, etc....

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