I'm still considering World Peace today--I read an article from the top news stories of today entitled, "Jordan's King Urges U.S. to Work on Mideast Peace." For a moment I was thrilled, but as my eyes quickly scanned the article, I realized that King Abdullah was calling for the United States to become more involved in the Middle East. I continue to contemplate the wisdom in our continued presence in Iraq as a peacekeeping measure. Abdullah addressed a recent joint meeting of Congress(which has been searching for ways to diminish the U.S. involvement in Iraq). He pled that the U.S. has an "unrivaled" potential to help with the core problem in the area; the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
Coincidentally, several hours after reading this article I came across the following quotation by Gordon B. Hinckley:
"I have often thought that if great numbers of the women of all nations were to unite and lift their voices in the cause of peace, there would develop a worldwide will for peace which could save our civilization and avoid untold suffering, misery, plague, starvation and the death of millions."
I wish President Hinckley could have been a bit more specific as to what our voices could say or how we could unite together to effect this change. My personal desire would be to send thousands of Americans to the Middle East as a true "peacekeeping force"--without guns or ammunition but with medical supplies, textbooks, love and reason. Just to roam about the country spreading ideals and goodwill. What a dumb plan, right? I would volunteer to do this. I don't know how many others could be persuaded.
Still waiting and watching to be led...
Wednesday, March 7, 2007
Mideast Muddle
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4 comments:
Beware of Israelis riding Caterpillar bulldozers.
That is a powerful quote. Thanks for sharing. Gives one pause, huh?
Just to clarify, I meant Pres. Hinckley's quote, not the one about bulldozers. :)
You might be interested in this game: www.peacemakergame.com It's basically a simulation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that's meant to help people understand what's going on and what needs to happen in order to actually implement a two state solution plan. You play as either the Israeli Prime Minister, or the Palestinian President. It's interesting, because even though both leaders may WANT peace, there are so many other parties, vying for different objectives, that the desire and will for peace is not enough. For example, as the Israeli PM, if you don't take harsh security measures as a response to suicide bombings, you will lose the support of the Israeli public, which will empower the Yesha extremists, leading to skirmishes with the Palestinians, leading to increased hatred on the Palestinian side, and so on and so forth. As the Palestinian President, if you don't build prisons and police stations, you won't get funding and investment from abroad because of lawlessness, which translates into unemployment for your people and lack of popular support, which Hamas and the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades readily eat up, etc. If you try to simply reform the curriculum to teach peace, there will be a popular Islamist outcry that will lose you credibility and empower the extremists. There are so many things, and sometimes, very, very difficult choices have to be made - like assassinating militant leaders, sending out the police, or launching missile strikes - and it may sound very, very bad, but in the game, sometimes those are your best options - and the ones that lead to peace the fastest. It's a fascinating game, I highly recommend it.
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