End the war in Iraq

Many I speak to haven't heard of "just peacemaking." I wasn't sure if this was the best way to share this info with you all, but I'll take the risk. Peace Action created this resource.

"Just Peacemaking also encompasses the full cycle of prevention, intervention and reconstruction activities that are being carried out with great courage by civilian groups, human rights organizations and the
United Nations. Our approach encompasses
prevention, peacekeeping, peace enforcement and peace building. We emphasize the importance of prevention, but we also recognize the need for peacekeeping and mediation, as well as for strategies
that can enforce peace and separate parties -- whether or not the parties involved give permission. We understand that peace building involves the reconstruction of civil society not by external unilateral force but through support for grassroots groups. We understand that there are few clear and simple strategies available for peacemaking; and that the field is evolving. In short, just peacemaking confronts us with complex issues, about which there is still no universal agreement; therefore, we present a range of opinions from different perspectives."

Download this full PDF resource here: www.peacecoalition.org/facts/PDF/just_peacemaking.pdf.

I agree, this situation is quite complicated, and it will be painful whether we leave Iraq or stay. I think we should leave Iraq, and join with others in peacemaking in Iraq, which will be quite tricky, and will demand sophisticated strategy and political will.

I'd like to make a side comment though.

If we were as adamant and deliberate in peacemaking initiatives around the world (and especially with Iraq), we would definitely be better off. Sadly, warring is seen as a reasonable choice in foreign relations, even though history has shown time and again that warring does more damage than good. Iraq is evidence of the downward spiral of security and peace.

Here are 10 practices Glen Stassen promotes (check out his book):
# 1. Support nonviolent direct action.
# 2. Take independent initiatives to reduce threat.
# 3. Use cooperative conflict resolution.
# 4. Acknowledge responsibility for conflict and injustice and seek repentance and forgiveness.
# 5. Advance democracy, human rights, and religious liberty.
# 6. Foster just and sustainable economic development.
# 7. Work with emerging cooperative forces in the international system.
# 8. Strengthen the United Nations and international efforts for cooperation and human rights.
# 9. Reduce offensive weapons and weapons trade.
# 10. Encourage grassroots peacemaking groups and voluntary associations.

I think this quote from Paul Potter, a leader of Students for a Democratic Society in the 1960s, really sums up the biggest problem with the Iraq war, and that is how we got into it in the first place:

"But the war goes on; the freedom to conduct that war depends on the dehuminization not only of the Vietnamese people but of the Americans as well; it depends on the construction of a system of premises and thinking that insulates the President and his advisors thouroughly and completely from the human consequences of the decisions they make. I do not believe that the President or [his advisors]... are particuliarly evil men. If asked to throw napalm on the back of a ten-year-old boy they would shrink in horror--but their decisions have led to mutilation and death of thousands and thousands of people."

If you ask me this whole war is a farce. Unfortunately it is not as easy to end as it was for your government to start...

"Aren't we obligated to stay and clean up the mess we've made and create some stability?"

Let's just make clear that even though the American nation started this war (in addition to others in the recent years) it's not only you trying to create stability but also many other countries of the world. So let's not forget them in your thoughts about pulling out immediately...
And yes it is your obligation to make sure the country does not sink into a civil war. It is your responsibility to make sure the Iraqi people are better off than before. Because now they are not!

Being responsible and finishing what we've started sounds nice, but honestly I think we need to just get out because despite some military stability. Political stability isn't something we can force on the middle east. Moreover America simply cannot afford to pay for this war! We are trillions of dollars in debt! "Cleaning up the mess" is a futile goal that could sink our entire economy with debt.