Grand Rapids, Michigan

Peace Presence

Peace Will Come

by Nancy Davis

I wake in the morning to plan my day. In the mix, I remember that our country is in a bloody war. This weighs on my day, on our community, the state, the nation. I have cried for the families living that war: the children and women innocently killed, men and women blown to shreds, a life of repeated death, destruction and fear for the next bullet or bomb. When I talk about the latest news, I may cry again.

Our president started the Iraq War four years ago. He invaded another country as a preemptive strike. He attacked it with great military might; threw out and hung an evil dictator. Our president has committed to a “successful victory” in a land now occupied by our soldiers. The reasons given for the war and the goals of engagement are in constant flux. Lately we are fighting to destroy the “insurgents” but these are now different than the insurgents we were fighting months ago. Bombs continue to explode. The country is in shambles. There are millions of refugees inside and outside the borders. People are afraid for their lives and those of their loved ones. Basic services are not met. Medical help is not available. Death squads have their way. Corruption is pervasive. Civil war is underway. A Bush War spiraled out of control.

I look for a thread of saving grace in all of this. I pray for our soldiers who have no clear mission. I pray for Iraqis who live in hell. I pray for the victims and the shooters. And I know in my heart that war will not bring peace or security. It perpetuates the cycle of violence. The Iraq that was once “liberated” is now fighting against the occupation. Iraqi collaborators are betrayed. The “terrorism” we came to fight was not there at first, but now it has descended from the mountains of Afghanistan, and is increasing its show of force around the world to fight the “evil conquerors.” At this stage of war, the violent acts against the innocent are repeated again and again by all sides.

After four years, the Bush government asks us to be patient—rather ironic when impatience got us into the war in the first place. After more and more Americans are revolted by this precipitous war and have voted it down, our government is escalating the war. Doesn’t this raise questions about our own democracy? Isn’t this an abuse of power?

Our president rejected the advice of the Iraq Study Group. He keeps fighting like a bully. He does not have a Plan B or an exit strategy. Some people claim that George W. Bush is an American WMD (Weapon of Mass Destruction, for those who forgot). He has certainly led us down the wrong road, broken international trust, and disregarded the Geneva Conventions. His actions continue to cause more American and Iraqi deaths. He has given us a legacy of war with no end in sight. He has shamed our democracy. Bushes “War on Terror,” has actually fueled the terror fire. Global terrorist attacks have increased 700% excluding the Iraq and Afghan bombings, since the beginning of the war.

Imagine another scenario. What if our President was a man of peace and integrity? After such a horrifying attack on the World Trade Center by Saudi terrorists, during the shock, grieving and sorrow, he would have led a U.S. effort to isolate and contain the threat. We could have rallied all resources to find Bin Laden. We could have gone to the root of the terrorist organization. Our government could have taken logical steps to prevent future terrorists from entering the country. The terror might have been “neutralized,” defeating the movement and its cause. Americans could have returned to the courage and normalcy of their lives without fear.

A Peace President would have challenged unclear dubious intelligence on Iraq, not trumped it up. He would have continued to work through the United Nations for the good of all nations. This could have led to reform and constructive change in the UN organization. Iraq, a sovereign nation and secular state could have been neutralized through direct dialogue and economic pressure. A Peace President would have patiently moved through international diplomatic channels to reduce the terrorist hate.

Sadly (surprisingly to me) many still stand behind Bush. They say that war is necessary. They claim that we must rally around the president and his mission. They want the war, and are even proud of it. They want the soldiers to fight over there to keep the terrorists away. However, this is flawed logic. This war has no defensive power. Do we honestly think that the US occupiers can keep the terrorists busy? The presence of US forces has drawn more foreign radicals into Iraq. It builds terrorism as a by-product. War has never prevented a terrorist attack.

Our soldiers deserve better. Why do we ask them to hate? They should not be asked to kill “taking the face off the enemy.” How can we ask them to kill insurgents i.e. anyone who opposes the occupation. Is terrorizing a people—the families including young children and elderly, mothers and fathers—a way to bring peace? Our soldiers should come home to their families.

The peace community opposed the Iraq War before it began, knowing that innocent women and children would die, knowing that war would kill so many for all the wrong reasons. True peacemakers know that one can never win hearts and minds looking down the barrel of a gun. Nonviolence is the only option if you “come in peace.” Our peace community is our saving grace. Peacemakers, peacekeepers, “peaceniks,” “artisans of peace;” some churches are even “waging peace.” This is our saving grace: brotherly love, forgiveness, reconciliation, harmony, hope. The ability to see people we call our enemies as human beings.

Give Iraq back to the Iraqis. Facilitate dialogue and round-table discussion between Iraqi factions. Allow them to reconcile. Use the best exit strategy to move to the borders and then move our troops home. Let Iraq and its many and diverse residents have self-determination. Let them form their government “of, by and for the people,” without occupation forces on their soil. It is the only democratic thing to do.

As for war—people of conscience are standing up to dissent. The peace marches and vigils continue to support an end to war. We look up to those with nonviolent courage. We smile at the patriots who say war is wrong. We love our enemies. It is not that bad. Ask Jesus. He taught enemy love and forgiveness. He was peace. Ask Gandhi. He led a rebellion for justice, without violence. Look with respect at all the great teachings of so many religions and find the common ground to stand together and say war is not the answer. Together we need not be afraid. We share our humanity. And because of that humanity, peace will come.

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