The editor of the Grande Dispatch attached my name instead of that of my peace-loving friend, Tony Fasline, to Tony’s letter which they were kind enough to print. I merely edited Tony’s draft, adding details about massive Iraqi casualties and the effects of the war on the balance of power in the region. For some reason, the editor attached my name to Tony’s work, and they forgot that Jim and I moved from Arizona City to Casa Grande in 2007. Still, we’re grateful for the opportunity to spread the word about the need to keep working for true peace and prosperity around the world.
WAR NO MORE, LET’S TRY PEACE
Every Friday afternoon from 4:15 P. M. until 5:15 P. M., when traffic is heaviest, a retired Catholic priest and Korean War veteran from Ohio stands on one of our busy street corners hoisting a peace sign, protesting war.
One of the various signs he might be holding up reads “WAR NO MORE/LET'S TRY PEACE NOW.” Recently, a motorist hollered out to him, "The war is over"!
Why does this man still stand on the corner? Is the war really over?
Borrowing from a piece written for publication by the Voice of the People, he would answer: "What did this war we just ‘won’ in Iraq accomplish? Only the overthrow of a nickel-and-dime dictator whose weapons of mass destruction we couldn’t find and whose connections to terrorist groups we couldn’t prove.
“We further accomplished the establishment of a creaky, paper-thin ‘democracy’ that will topple like a house of cards in the next few years. Sunnis and Shiites will fight a civil war, followed by the emergence from the ashes of a religious or military dictator who hates America more than Saddam Hussein did.
“We also accomplished the return of more than 4,000 coffins and the return of tens of thousands troops with wounds, missing limbs, and psychological disfigurement, not to mention the deaths and injuries of hundreds of thousands of Iraqi citizens. We also upset a delicate balance of power, leaving not only the region but the world in more danger from extremism than ever before. And for this, we paid hundreds of billions of dollars that will leave this country with stifling debt for decades to come. Meanwhile the U.S. is no safer from terrorism than it was before we started this venture.
“What did the Iraq war accomplish? Only the most massive waste of American life, money, and resources since Vietnam.
“Let's try peace now!”
Rev. Fasline wants to invite people to join the protestor in order to raise the consciousness of many others to the importance of seeking peace, rather than war. Call him at 520-426-0070 to learn of the vigil sites each week. You can also find the location of each Friday’s vigil posted by late Thursday on Debbie Jordan’s Peace Blog at imaginetheworldatpeace.blogspot.com/ or on her two Facebook pages (Debbie Jordan and The World I Imagine - end poverty and war) and Twitter account (@lady4peace).
For America and Peace,
Rev. Anthony Fasline
Debbie Jordan
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