Cluster Bombs in Afghanstan

[Victoria Penna]

The use of weapons in Iraq and Afghanistan has caused some major health and developmental issues. According to a human rights watch group based in New York, they visited 250 locations in Afghanistan where they found evidence of United States having used cluster bombs. What would be a beyond war approach to preventing the usage of such weapons in the future?

[Melissa Ruhl]

Yes, I see what you are saying. However, I must then ask the question who is Beyond War? What are we doing? Our mission is to educate. Educate about what though? That a world beyond war is possible? Right now I do not believe it is with the way the world currently is, with the way infrastructure currently is. I don't think spreading a message that we "can" be beyond war will do anything. I think we need to show how we can be beyond war with action. People don't want to be preached at. They want to know what the problem is and know how to solve it. We don't have a clear path to ridding the world of war. In fact, all we ever seem to say is that it is possible. It is only possible if we make it possible and to make it possible we have to do something. We have to work towards treaties, we have to get politically active, we have to demonstrate. Maybe there are other possibilities, but I think they are just in addition to these things. We seem to want to limit ourselves only to "education," but then we shy away from education. So, I'm not really sure what our plan is.

[Loni Bowers]

At one point it seemed so important to say no to war, even though we did not see clearly what the path would be. We were using up our resources, human, and material, the brightest minds - to make weapons and on projects like the Star War's shield. So it would seem that it would be much harder to find the ways of solving conflict that would actually work on a long term basis. I still think saying no to war is really important. But now, Beyond War is educating about what those ways are - those ways which will give us the long term peace we are looking for. I am sure you know what these are - appropriate foreign aid, non-violent conflict resolution processes, international law and collaboration and co-operation with other nations.

But with the majority of people on the earth not in agreement that war is obsolete, not seeing that we are one interdependent planet and not seeing that the means are the ends in the making, education still is the action required. At least it is the action that I think will be most effective and so the action that I want to be involved with. When people have this information that BW is trying to get out there, they will take the appropriate action and I am sure that this will include political activity, demonstrations, working towards treaties.

Melissa, you are a perfect example. You understand what BW is trying to teach and you want to get involved in the appropriate actions. For many people who come to our BW introductions, this is all very new. The will grudgingly come face to face with war being obsolete in the nuclear age, get a better understanding of our interconnectedness, and then really struggle with the means being the ends in the making. But when they get done with the study series, they want to write letters, participate in other actions.

Everyone is not an educator. For those of us who are, BW's materials are fabulous. But what I would love to see, is for people to come to our intros and study series, get turned on to these ideas and then get involved with the actions you suggest - take it to the streets.

[Melissa Ruhl]

Winslow, you wrote, "It is difficult to know where peoples' heads are today, especially young people." What did you mean by that? I don't want to assume you meant something offensive towards me or my peers, so could you explain? Surely you don't think that all young people should be discriminated against in such a manner.

[Winslow Myers]

I was speaking as a 68 year old man who is watching methods of communication proliferate and develop much faster than he is able to keep up--even though I did teach--and learn from-- young people for 40 years and deeply admire their energy, idealism and imagination.

[Joy Ferne]

The means certainly does not justify the end. Killing and maiming innocent children will not make a nation thank you or support you in it's so-called efforts to create peace but it is an excellent way to make enemies. I read an article interviewing an Afghan who replied to a question of what his people wanted " Don't send us soldiers - send us teachers, doctors, engineers, construction workers". They want education, they want their electricity restored, and they want their employment back. This is the area money should be focused -, not cluster bombs. We need to focus on doing good not evil - evil will never win a conflict but creates the ancient tit- for- tat - you hurt us and we'll hurt you - a total no win situation. I know some of this reconstruction is happening slowly but we have much more to do and efforts need to be centered on healing the issues not fueling the flames or resentment and hate. We can do this with compassion.