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Phillip

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Maybe better first to ask HOW can we have a lasting peace
July 25, 2004 - 11:30 AM

Joy - one reason peace is so elusive is that foreign policy among nations sustains conflict in the forms of open aggression when foreign policy is prosecuted by a military power center ... for example the Defense Department in the U.S. ... even when the undertaking may be designed to reduce conflict. The reason is because whenever destructive tactics are employed innocent people are at risk and some often are killed or horribly injured, lose homes and property, lose relatives, are traumatized, etc. And there are atrocities ... like the prison scandal in Iraq. All of these things engender some bitterness toward the perpetrating nation, even when the actions taken have good intentions and are taken by basically good people. So some seeds of future conflicts are always planted by present conflicts. But sometimes agression might be necessary ... like when the U.S. was atatcked at Pearl Harbor. And 9/11 justifies the incursion into (only) Afghanistan to capture, thwart or eliminate known sources of agression toward the western world. Iraq is a different situation and - as a Vietnam veteran - I feel strongly we did not have a reason to attack it. Hussein was a monster and I'm glad he's gone ... but we aren't intervening in Sudan to rescue Black Africans. Is the policy racists? I don't know but it begs the question. We also have trouble securing peace because the only OTHER major power center that prosecutes foreign policy in most countries is the State Department (or whatever the equivalent is called). Some will ask ... "huh? Doesn't the state Department prosecute foreign policy through diplomacy? Isn't that peaceful?" I would ask in return, is it? Diplomacy is conducted bewteen governments, not peoples. Diplomacy has been called "the art of compromise". Well said. But its the interests of the poorest of the poor, those that have no influence or power or money that are most likely to be compromised. Diplomats from different countries, and their governments, will not hesitate to secure a "compromise" that satisfies their respective national interest onjectives - even when, as commonly happens, doing so will sustain suffering through the implementation of policies which are intended to benefit the wealthy and powerful citizens of those countries at the expense of the powerless and the poor. One example? The U.S. supported Saddam Hussein when he was at war with Iran. Why? Because Iran was perceived to be a great threat to the U.S. and - at the time - Iraq was not. But the Iraqi people suffered mercilessly under Hussein, didn't they? So that 'peaceful' diplomacy perpetuated much suffering in Iraq. Social injustice is one form of aggression. And that aggression can propagate still more (future) aggression as embittered rural peasants and urban slum dwellers turn to extremist ideologies and open violence to address their grievances. So - in conclusion - to secure a meaningful and lasting peace we must find an alternative to reliance on ONLY the two existing primary power centers through which foreign policy is prosecuted. Those existing power centers, by the way, often reinforce corruption which in turn produces much more social injustice which is itself a form of aggression planting seeds for yet MORE future aggression, etc. [I REWROTE THESE LAST STATEMENTS AFTER REALIZING AN ERROR IN MY COMMUNICATION]. I hope I have been able to offer some insight regarding how we can pursue peace more effectively. The specifics remain to be defined but I believe that one or more new power centers for prosecuting foreign policy need to be established which will redirect resources into international development initiatives promoting social justice. You asked an excellent question.

Gene Winston Owens, Sr.

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YOU WILL???
July 26, 2004 - 06:01 AM

Phillip

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Responding to the post above
July 26, 2004 - 12:23 PM

Your question, which was unclear to me, triggered me to re-review my post ... which preceded it. I've edited the last few lines of that post after realizing that I had apparently mis-recalled something. Does that help?

Ashraf

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Re: who will bring lasting peace
August 3, 2004 - 08:26 AM

pwagner,

Sir, you are a wise person and I realy pray that some people here in "Peace & Conflict" forum adapt your way of thinking. I have had endless quarelling with people in this forum for trying to explain to the them the injustices done by the US foreign policy in the Middle East.

Palestinian PROFILE

Phillip

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Reply to Palestinian
August 3, 2004 - 09:31 AM

As a journalist I authored some years ago articles on the same newspaper front-page representing both the Paelstinian and Israeli perspectives following onset of the (now faltering) Israeli-PLO peace accords. I'm pleased to be able to indicate that the consensus of each (Israeli and Palestinian) immigrant community was that my reporting accurately reflected their respective realities and offered a balanced and reasonable look into life in that region of the world. I would appreciate - my time permitting - an opportunity to communicate directly with you, or with any reader on issues involving pursuit of peace and social justice. If interested, you can find my email address at the URL indicated in my profile.

Ashraf

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Re: who will bring lasting peace
August 7, 2004 - 03:35 AM

pwagner,

Sorry for my late reply. I would realy like to read those articles.

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Mr. Wagner the YOU I Speak of Is All Readers of My Post, it is not a Question,. me
August 7, 2004 - 04:03 AM

Culture Junkie

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Re: who will bring lasting peace
August 24, 2004 - 02:18 AM

Hi, my name is Ben and I've just joined TIG.
World peace is most definately dependent upon mutual understanding. This is why forums such as these are so important. Because ultimately, it is up to us the citizens of the world and not the governments to make the fundamental changes in perception that will be at the heart of world peace. As the saying goes... "The squeaky wheel gets the oil".
If we want change we will have to let the governments know that we are capable of joining hands beyond our country borders, making it clear to them that the nationalistic perspective that has always been used to keep us apart will no longer work. We, just like the multinational corporations, must go global. But, at the same time, let's not forget to have fun in the process.
Speaking of fun, I've just finished a couple of new songs. If you have a minute, please check them out via my profile URL... tell me what you think.

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Find Peace in your own home, then in your street, then in your village, then in your
March 11, 2005 - 07:34 AM

country, then in your world

Udara

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Re: who will bring lasting peace
March 12, 2005 - 01:14 AM

pwagner, I think NugeneIAm means here is that we need to find peace inside our self defeating our external negative feelings. The peace with in as explained in buddhism.

"MIND IN PEACE
When one's mind is in peace
- without greed, anger, and ignorance -
then the whole world is in peace."

NugeneIAm, Is this your point ?

Udara
Sri Lanka

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Luke Lieberman

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Re: who will bring lasting peace
March 12, 2005 - 05:29 AM

I think Udara summed it up nicely.

Pwagner - I like alot of what you have to say - it relects understanding.

What I think I would say - is that in any bussiness you often need a short term success in order to spark long term growth.

There are so many reasons any power can get involved in conflict - regional powers create conflict - like Iran/Iraq - the Global Powers - at that point the US and Russia both picked a side and backed it.

Kashmir is a regoinal conflict - Tiawan, Sudan - and Korea is a regoinal conflict - basically when the North started going dictator/communist - the South decided they would rather be domcratic/capitalist.

So the South delares independance and the North Invades - the North is getting backed by Russia and China - and South Korea is backed by US.

- Now we have a Present Force there to check Kim Jung Il - is it wrong?

why do we do this? It is not rescources - there are few on the Korean Penninsula - and most are in South Korea.

it is political battle line with Communism but Communism is broken.

we are there because we have a treaty with the Japanese which ended WW2 which promises our protection of Japan - and because we have economic ties with South Korea.

what is more than that - another major reason I expect is the millions of 2nd generation South Koreans who live in the United States - I live in Los Angeles - I see Koreans everywhere - I am learning a Korean Martial Art.

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Batoola, does that mean Desert Flower?
March 12, 2005 - 06:02 AM

my last Post was to You in particular, Pwagner just happened be writing his when I was writing mine

Udara, I could see what I am trying to say in just that way, if all Buddists are as you Heaven Would Unfold on Earth, regardless of what the rest of the world did but put simple when one is at peace doors just open up, the dark matter that is being talked about is what hold up the universe, it also makes up 98% of its mass that my friend is the holly ghost and it is here care for us but it don't know the difference in fear and prayer

Luke, please do me a favor, find a way to get cash contributions to Udara, i know he know how to share and cash is exactly what the tsunami releaf need right ablout to stemulate industry and trade, what do you think Udara

Phillip

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Re: who will bring lasting peace
March 12, 2005 - 07:07 AM

For sure I understand that "personal peace" must come from within. But there are some sets of circumstances and physical environments in which most of us would find that the challenge to attaining inner "personal" peace exceeds our ability to achieve it.

I spent a year in Vietnam, at a horrible time of the conflict, second only to the Tet period of 1968. I've survived polio (I wore leg braces at night for years to keep my feet from turning inward), a ruptured brain aneuyrsm and poverty. When I encounter, as I have in the Philippines, southern Mexico and Brazil, truly impoverished people with little hope for the future, discussions of how to attain personal peace have little currency. I believe in justice and I believe we have the capacity to produce it. But, in order to accomplish that, we need to re-examin how we expend resources.

Between the State and Defense Departments the US must expend a half trillion to a trillion dollars a year ... 300 billion alone for the Defense Department and State, the CIA, etc doubtless get more. When we offer to invest a paltry 15 million dollars over five years on some project in Africa it makes the headlines. By and large we spend virtually nothing elevating the lives of suffering people around the globe. Terrorism may not directly result from such circumstances, but it almost certainly indirectly does. Trying to debate or "win over" the embittered is pointless. Bitterness emerges from perceptions of injustice. The Saudis who participated in 9/11 may not have been impoverished but they viewed the US as a purveyor of injustice. For all the talk of how these radical religious zealots are after us only because of differences in religious belief I have to point out that Osama Bin Laden only turned on his old ally, the US, when the US stationed armed forces in Saudi Arabia - which he perceived as an affront to the Muslim world order.

We (the US) lost virtually all of what credibility may have remained when the prison scandal broke in Iraq. The invasion of Iraq was clearly not justifiable even if results SEEM to suggest everything will work out for the better. But it was "spin-able." Not the prison scandal.

I appreciate all the responses. I believe the world is a community, if not just a village. I think a life worth living will include extending a hand to help the less fortunate. I think my country, the US, could do much more than it is doing in that regard. But its a moot point. National governments and the corporate powers that come to supercede them are driven by other motives. Thats why I think it comes down to just plain people helping people.

Desert ROSE

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Re: who will bring lasting peace
March 12, 2005 - 10:39 AM

---well i don't know from where to start i mean ur talking about peace and that's sth my ppl never felt actually most of the countries in the middle east don't even know what it's like to live in peace and feel freedom bcoz any desigion made by our countries or even just ideas about anything we r threatende .i think that the idea of peace now in the world is hard bcoz of the hateness between nations and ppl which was caused by thier leaders and governments in the first place but i also believe that if we want to live in peace then it's our resposibality the ppl not our governments specially the governments of the strongest countries bcoz they don't want that they want hateness and conflicts all over the world so they would easily occupy and fight others in the name of justice when they tell thier ppl that we r gonna start a war to help others and the problem is that they believe them when all they do is take over countries and destroy them .

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