My wish for my country is that we would stop being hypocrites and demand that the Bush administration ends the increasing cycle of violence and suffering in Iraq. If an honest assessment by President George W. Bush was accompanied by an ounce of courage, President Bush could say to the world:
The time has come to successfully end the war on terrorism and bring our soldiers home. I recognize that acts of terror are not because people hate our freedom. Terror is a response to something, and that something is our foreign policy. Our choice, in this age of nuclear weapons, is not between nonviolence and violence, but between nonviolence and nonexistence.
Today, I announce an end to our wars. Peace is only possible by ending the escalating cycle of violence and aggressively working for justice around the world. I am starting the process of justice by apologizing to every person who is a victim of United States-sponsored injustice. I will therefore, on behalf of the United States:
. Renounce our right to declare unilateral war and will work passionately with other nations so that they do the same.
. Bring our soldiers in Iraq and around the world home. In today’s world with aircraft, submarines and missiles that have a global reach, no US forces should be stationed outside our country in a time of peace, except as members of a United Nations peacekeeping force.
. Protect our nuclear facilities in the United States. We must ensure that if a nuclear bomb or accident occurs, the highly radioactive materials are protected so that large portions of the United States do not become uninhabitable for future generations.
. Start the process to free our nation from oil wars, fossil fuel pollution and end our willingness to support injustice overseas by putting our best scientists to work to solve the remaining technological challenges to developing clean coal, fuel cells, solar, wind, geo-thermal, and other yet-to-be discovered efficient sources of energy.
. Promise not to intervene in the political process of other nations or to seek the overthrow of democratically elected leaders.
. Stop military funding and arms sales to other nations.
. Lead an international commission to resolve the Israeli and Palestinian dispute.
. Cut the military budget in three parts and use one part for defense, one part to help the people of Iraq and Afghanistan rebuild their countries, and the last part will stay at home to provide education, health care assistance, create the Department of Peace, and strengthen the Social Security system.
. End hypocritical policies by no longer holding other nations to a standard different than we hold for ourselves. This will allow us to regain our credibility as we seek to solve our most pressing challenges, especially stopping the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
. Agree to aggressively work to eliminate weapons of mass destruction by immediately reducing our nuclear arsenal.
. Protect future generations by exercising great care to reduce global warming and safeguard our environment. High on this list is stopping the creation of nuclear waste that poses a health hazard and terrorist threat for future generations.
. Endorse the International Criminal Court and honor the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
. And finally, champion a weapons-free space nonproliferation agreement. Independent of this agreement, the United States will end all missile defense funding and work to keep space free of weapons. We can learn from the past and not repeat wasting billions of dollars on weapons that only make everyone less secure.
Throughout our history we have hated and fought with many nations. In time these same countries have become our friends. Americans need only think of our wars with England, Germany, Japan, Vietnam, and the Cold War with the former Soviet Union to realize that it is not a specific people that we must hate, but hate itself. If we kill for peace we will have war forever. A great American, Martin Luther King, Jr., once said:
“A true revolution of values will lay hands on the world order and say of war: This way of settling differences is not just .
“A true revolution of values will soon cause us to question the fairness and justice of many of our past and present policies .
“A true revolution of values will soon look uneasily on the glaring contrast of poverty and wealth .
“A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death.
Because we desire peace and justice, the time has come to end exceptionalist policies. We must ask for and give forgiveness, as we are all part of a common humanity. We must become the example we expect to see in return. We do this for ourselves and for humanity.
May our creator bless us all!
David Dionisi writes from the perspective of a military intelligence officer, senior executive and international volunteer. His book, “American Hiroshima, warns that the US will attack Iran’s nuclear facilities and Iran will respond by attacking US nuclear power plants. He currently serves as the National Awareness Officer for the international organization Freedom From War (www.freedomfromwar.org) and is a weekly columnist for The Daily Star Egypt.
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1-Martin Luther King, Jr., the night before he was assassinated, April 3, 1968, told thousands of people at the Mason Temple in Memphis, Tennessee: “For years now, we have been talking about war and peace. But now, no longer can we just talk about it. It is no longer a choice between violence and nonviolence; it’s nonviolence or nonexistence..
2-Martin Luther King, Jr., statement at Riverside Church, April 4, 1967
