Show r u r 7 3 t p Honk For Peace Jennifer Stephens Contributing Writer A few evenings ago I was driving downtown and passed the Federal Building About half a dozen people were standing in front of it holding posters Honk for Peace We want Peace I didn't honk my horn Nor did anyone else driving by Does that mean I dont don't want peace No I have friends over fighting the war I hope to see those friends again I want peace for a very personal person person- al reason as well as the moral reasons most liberals seem to claim But honking my horn hom wont won't help bring peace Protesting with a few friends wont won't help bring peace Im I'm not saying that protests cant can't work but to be effective they need more than half a dozen people Nor do I agree with what seems to be the current definition of peace If we bring the troops home well we'll have peace Right Wrong The problem is that peace cannot be e one At the beginning of World W Yi Var r II lI t the world Vor was a at war war pr We had p peace ace Until December There were terrorist training camps in Afghanistan but we didn't have troops there so sowe sowe sowe we were at peace Until September 11 tho Iraq didn't actually have chemical or biological weapons yet so we were at peace Until Peace is a lot more complicated complicated complicated than not having troops shooting at each other Peace is a lack of hostilities If the soldiers were brought home today we wouldn't have peace Not in the Middle East Not in the International Community Not even here in inthe inthe inthe the US U.S. Things have gone too far for that Bringing our soldiers home is a simple V tJ c o or r I oo o r Y D J o c r ar c. c I In V r p. p o I n c co o r cc ca c R c a N y IRAQ POST A US U.S. medic rushes to treat Iraqi guardsman Ahmed a driver in a con convoy convoy vo voy that was struck by a roadside bomb in City Iraq solution and this isn't a simple simple sim sim- simple war Simple solutions wont won't work What would work I dont don't take a lot more more re thai bringing the soldiers h home ne To be honest honest hon hon- honest est a real lasting peace might mean having to send more soldiers over to Iraq for a while When this war began I was wasa a Marine A lot of the higher- higher ranks who'd been in for the first Gulf War seemed to feel that they were finally being allowed to finish what they started over a decade ago I dont don't want my young friends who are over there now to have to return for a third try in another decade Were We're there whatever the reasons reasons rea rea- reasons rea- rea sons were we're there I cant can't say those reasons dont don't matter They do But ut were we're over there now so lets let's finish the job Then maybe we can have a peace that lasts more than a decade Real peace pe peace ce can canZ an 1 t r achieved d by military means alone But sometimes peace cant can't be achieved without military military military mil mil- force The soldiers over there arent aren't going to create the peace That wasn't their job Their job was to get rid of ofa a regime a dictator who made peace impossible The job is now more complicated The insurgents are making peace impossible So they have to get rid of the gents Hopefully when that's done peace will be possible and we can bring the soldiers home and have peace People want peace and they want the soldiers home today Unfortunately right now now- no its it's a case of you cant can't have your cake and eat it to If we bring the soldiers home we wont won't immediately and andaU aU automatically o have vc A sa I lJ r. r e m 1 less I I tI l. l Driving back past past past t the h e Federal Building half an hour later I was stopped at the light Again I didn't honk for peace No one else did either That doesn't mean I dont don't want peace Just that I disagree with most liberals on how to achieve peace To close I must give the liberals a great deal of credit and thanks for their attitude towards the troops At least in this war the attacks and condemnation have been directed at the President and his Administration rather than the soldiers |