Posted on April 16, 2007
During his presentation at the two-day Global Nonviolence International Conference last week, David Cortwright, author and professor of peace studies at Notre Dame University, explained why and how nonviolence should be used in the current war against Iraq.
“Nonviolence has much to say about response to this terrible conflict: global terrorism,” he said. “One cannot wage war against a tactic, and that is what terrorism is.”
He said that in order to commit to such a movement, Americans need to understand how bad it is in Iraq.
“There are 10,000 to 15,000 armed militants who identify themselves as al-Qaeda, and their numbers are growing,” Cortwright said. “The number of terrorist attacks in the world has increased three times since 9/11.”
He added that the majority of the suicide bombings in Iraq have occurred because of U.S. military occupation there.
“Uniting against terror requires the understanding of the difference between hardcore militants and the very widespread support from large communities,” he said.
Cortwright suggested a plan to prevent terrorism from growing.
“First, the actual murderers should be arrested and locked up in jail,” Cortwright said.
“The broader base then needs to be convinced that they have to come to another approach, to find another way to address their political grievances.”
By doing so, Cortwright said the United States will be able to forge a new foreign policy that will decrease the anti-American sentiments in the Arab world.
“We owe Iraq; we have done horrendous things to that country,” he said. “Nothing is more important in our country or the world than ending occupation and war in Iraq.”
Students like Liz Cover, a sophomore, agreed with what Cortwright said about Iraq.
“I liked how he thought we didn’t need to necessarily end it, but just get out of there,” she said. “He isn’t too extreme and he had a good balance of points.”
Freshman Kelly Carr agreed.
“The war in Iraq is not nearly as supported by our country as it was four years ago,” she said. “We slowly are discovering what really goes on over there and I think it’s best to get out as soon as possible, as Cortwright said.”
Cortwright ended by saying that nonviolence is not an easy thing to act upon when trying to solve problems.
“The key is that we must be willing to sacrifice in order to bring about nonviolent change,” said Cortwright.
