The age old adage that “history repeats itself” has been a maxim to those that are attempting to understand how we can change the future – and in the face of conflicts developing throughout the world, how we can implement a peace process that will be achievable and sustainable. The task is daunting, but it can be accomplished with an effort that spans the world, not just a loose assortment of peace activists that do not have the power or resources to achieve their goals. This is a task that must become a worldwide effort, and hopefully, some of those objectives could soon become reality.

The Mainstream News Media, our own government, and even some of the brightest political minds in the country are missing the picture as a whole, and instead are concentrating on individual nations they believe threaten peace – when in reality, there is a much broader issue developing, and it’s the broader challenges we must tackle to make any meaningful impact on achieving peace. To understand how to change our future, it’s necessary to thoroughly examine the past, analyze similar situations, and develop a strategy based on past experiences that effectively targets those issues that threaten peace on a global basis. Ignoring history has been the fault of humankind for ages – and to survive, we cannot keep making the same mistakes.

The broader issue I speak of is specifically four nations, whose governments are unstable, and in each nation, the people themselves are becoming increasingly dissatisfied with their leadership – and the cries for change are being muffled by their respective nations as best they can – although to a large degree, those efforts are becoming ineffective and the governmental heads of state are scrambling to bring calm and find ways to quell the dissatisfaction of their respective populations. This is where our knowledge of history and the probabilities for war can be found, and knowing how they have been addressed in the past can offer insight as to how to address the situations in a manner that will not turn into a global conflict.

Consider the internal strife that is present in the United States, Israel, Iran, and Pakistan:

The United States: President George W. Bush and his Vice President, now commonly referred to as Darth (Dick Cheney) Vader have lost the trust of a nation, have reshaped a nation that was once a leader in democratic principles, and now both stand in defiance of Congress, the Geneva Convention, and the people themselves. America is now effectively a fascist nation, and the people have no control over their destiny, which is decided by corporations and the dynasty families that have enriched themselves off the backs of the less fortunate. For all practical purposes, democracy is now dead in America.

Israel: Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is in trouble. His support in public opinion polls is somewhere around one or two percent. More support is given to Arkady Gaydamak, a Russian billionaire who made his money selling arms to one side or another in Angola’s civil war, is wanted for tax evasion France, and under investigation here for money laundering. Gaydamak’s popularity derives from his high profile ownership of a sports team, and contributions to distressed groups that have fallen through the government’s welfare nets.

Olmert’s most immediate problems come from an announcement by the official commission investigating last year’s war in Lebanon. It will make an interim report next month that will include personal comments about the figures who took prominent roles in the decisions to go to war, and to manage the war. One can wonder why the commission is giving such advance notice about what is likely to be a damning report. It has prompted a month-long period of speculation about the worst. Politicians are upping their attacks on the prime minister and the defense minister, and positioning themselves to take over. MORE

Pakistan: WASHINGTON (CNN) — Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf — a key U.S. ally — is less popular in his own country than al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, according to a poll of Pakistanis conducted last month by an anti-terrorism organization.

Additionally, nearly three-fourths of poll respondents said they oppose U.S. military action against al Qaeda and the Taliban inside Pakistan, according to results from the poll conducted by the independent polling organization Terror Free Tomorrow.

“We have conducted 23 polls all over the Muslim world, and this is the most disturbing one we have conducted,” said Ken Ballen, the group’s head. “Pakistan is the one Muslim nation that has nuclear weapons, and the people who want to use them against us — like the Taliban and al Qaeda — are more popular there than our allies like Musharraf.” MORE

Iran: The powerful Ali Akbar Velayati, the diplomatic adviser to the Supreme Leader, said he didn’t like the replacement one bit. Even worse: regarding the appalling record of the Ahmadinejad presidency when it comes to the economy, all-out criticism is now the norm. Another former nuclear negotiator, Hassan Rowhani, told the Etemad-e Melli newspaper, “The effects of the [UN] sanctions are visible. Our situation gets worse day by day.”

Ahmadinejad for the past two months has been placing his former IRGC brothers-in-arms in key posts, like the presidency of the central bank and the Oil, Industry and Interior ministries. Internal repression is rife. On Sunday, hundreds of students protested at the Amir-Kabir University in Tehran, calling for “Death to the dictator”

As if anyone needed to be reminded, the buck – or rial – stops with the Supreme Leader, whose last wish on earth is to furnish a pretext for the Bush administration to launch World War III. (Emphasis added) If Ahmadinejad now deviates from a carefully crafted strategic script, the Supreme Leader may simply get rid of him. LINK

An important factor in Iran’s internal politics is that the youth of Iran are extremely pro-American – a fact the MSM in America fails to delve into and understand. President Ahmadinejad, much like Bush and Cheney, has failed miserably in fulfilling his campaign promises and instead, has squandered Iran’s wealth on Nuclear facilities and advanced weapons systems. Sanctions are working, and given enough time, a popular revolt of the people remain a real possibility, especially if the US and Israel are smart enough to allow Ahmadinejad to destroy his support, much alike Bush and Cheney have.

Iran does present a particularly troubling problem to Middle-East security, as any nation that is ruled by religious fanaticism is apt to be more dangerous if the driving principle of the religion is to instigate a world war in the hopes the Prophet Mohamed will fulfill his prophesy of returning to earth; this notion is kept alive by the “hard-liners” and is not shared by the majority of the populace of Iran.

This is where we examine history, and there is where we can see how situations like this have been dealt with since time began, and nothing has ever occurred to stop the cycle of war that is perpetuated by governmental leadership, not by the people themselves. It’s a safe statement to say that generally speaking, the world at large wishes to live in peace; it is those in power that cause the strife, misery and war, not the people themselves.

Whenever a government becomes highly unpopular, throughout history we see evidence that those who are attempting to stay in power seek to cause a “war” or a “common enemy” to nationalize the people themselves, and unwittingly, they are led down the path to war when its necessity was only to preserve the power of those attempting to retain their leadership and personal agenda – not for the general welfare of the people. The public and the world in general need to understand these concepts, and how it serves to drive them deeper into despair rather than to elevate their position in life.

Peace is not a concept, but a viable option that can only be obtained if the world can be convinced that peace is the only alternative to war – and in combination with the growing effects of global warming, and several unstable governments, we stand on the precipice of a world that could quickly fall into utter chaos if the people of the world do not unite in a common goal – one that will directly benefit the average citizen in any country. Peace seekers need to understand that peace will only be accomplished when we have an international envoy that will spell-out how we will mitigate the coming oil shortages and the effects of global warming. As I stated in an earlier article, intellectuals throughout the world have forecast regional “oil wars” followed by “water wars” when the effects of global warming become more severe – and to stave off or mitigate those conflicts, we have to address the issues directly and provide the worldwide community with viable solutions, and then “sell” those concepts to the global community.

If we can establish a worldwide coalition of peace activists, discuss the benefits of desalinization plants built strategically throughout the world, and the use of wind-farms to generate a large percentage of our power, here and abroad, we can mitigate the effects of a dwindling oil supply and the deserts that are expanding and reclaiming once fertile lands caused by climate change; we need to enlist the help of scientists who know what it will take to stave-off these potential disasters, and to aid in bringing sanity to a world that is growing increasingly violent.

With enough international investment, the arid areas of Africa could be turned into the bread-basket of the world, turning deserts into fertile lands that will help to feed a growing population that is suffering from a lack of essentials, food and water. These are not unattainable goals, but as long as the leading industrial nations are spending their money on the tools of war rather than those of peace – we have nothing to offer that will help to make the peace movement into a global initiative. We have passed the period when one nation can make a difference; we are now in a situation where the only possibility of attaining peace is to enlist the global community in the fight to make our respective governments function for the betterment of mankind – not their own selfish desires. United we shall stand and defend the principles of humanity, but divided, the world is apt to fall into anarchy.

William Cormier

Note: Other articles that substantiate my belief that immediate action is tantamount to halting our global population from suffering and dying by virtue of climate change – and our refusal to directly make efforts to mitigate the coming crisis:

‘Humanity’s very survival’ is at risk, says UN

From The Times
October 26, 2007
Lewis Smith, Environment Reporter

The speed at which mankind has used the Earth’s resources over the past 20 years has put “humanity’s very survival” at risk, a study involving 1,400 scientists has concluded.

The environmental audit, for the United Nations, found that each person in the world now requires a third more land to supply his or her needs than the Earth can supply.

Thirty per cent of amphibians, 23 per cent of mammals and 12 per cent of birds are under threat of extinction, while one in ten of the world’s major rivers runs dry every year before it reaches the sea.

The bleak verdict on the environment was issued as an “urgent call for action” by the United Nations Environment Programme, which said that the “point of no return” was fast approaching. MUCH MORE

US battles epic drought, little relief in sight

UN issues ‘final wake-up call’ on population and environment
Many states seen facing water shortages

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