Honor the victims of 9-11

“Setting an example is not the primary means of influencing another, it is the only means.”
-Albert Einstein

Six years after the attacks of 9-11 the words of Albert Einstein shine like a piercing light of truth and clarity through the dense fog of rhetoric that currently surrounds the violence in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Yesterday the fog grew thicker as General David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker sounded the triumphant horn of the Bush administration before Congress that the 30,000 strong U.S. troop “surge” into Iraq is in fact creating the diplomatic space necessary for sectarian factions in Iraq to peacefully mediate their differences. Col. Dan Smith, U.S. Army (Ret.), who is not a Quaker but writes to educate them about the complexities of military affairs, reports on his blog, The Quaker’s Colonel, that the reduction in violence touted by Petraeus and Crocker is indeed happening in some areas of Iraq. However, Smith also notes that the reduction in violence may in fact be due to a number of other intervening factors.

On the other hand, the BBC recently published a survey that polled the opinions of more than 2,000 Iraqi’s, in more than 450 neighborhoods, across all 18 provinces of Iraq. The overwhelming consensus among this large sample set is that the U.S. troop surge has been nothing short of an abysmal failure. The BBC reports that, “Between 67% and 70% of the Iraqis polled believe the surge has hampered conditions for political dialogue, reconstruction and economic development.” The full report can be found here:
US surge has failed – Iraqi poll

As I continue to filter the results of the BBC’s extensive poll and the testimony of Petraeus and Crocker through the same filter of skepticism, my better judgment tells me the truth of the matter exists somewhere in the middle. Disputes will surely continue as people of all ideological backgrounds continue to measure and analyze what is happening in that complex area of the world. Regardless, one fact remains crystal clear – the cost of the war grows larger and more unmanageable with each passing day. As reported by the New York Times in January, the cost of the war in Iraq is quickly approaching 1.2 Trillion. The article provides a powerful look at What $1.2 Trillion Can Buy. Some quick facts:
- A doubling of cancer research funding
- Treatment for every American whose diabetes or heart disease is now going unmanaged
- A global immunization campaign which would save millions of children’s lives
- Universal preschool for every 3 & 4 year old child across the country
- The city of New Orleans could receive a huge increase in reconstruction funds
- National security: A few crucial recommendations of the 9/11 Commission that have not been put in place could be easily financed — better baggage and cargo screening

Although it is clear the U.S. government has decided the best way to create peace in Iraq and Afghanistan is through violence, I do believe that the citizens of the U.S. can still choose a different way, a better way, a way that I believe truly honors the victims of the 9-11 attacks. As Einstein so brilliantly suggests, we must become the type of people that seek to influence others by the example we set with our own lives. I can think of no greater honor to those lost on 9-11 than to make their tragic deaths an occasion for a sincere personal commitment to first transform our lives and then to share the fruit of that transformation with others. If we want peace, we live and cultivate peace in our own lives, if we want justice, we seek reconciliation not retribution, if we desire forgiveness we offer it to others first. If I ever die in a terrorist attack my prayer is that my death will not be a catalyst for more killing and death, but a clear and convicting statement to the world that we all need to be transformed. My spirit tells me the victims of the 9-11 attacks pray with me.