A trillion U.S. taxpayer dollars are being spent on wars across the world in Syria, Ukraine, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia and Libya every year. The United States is currently in the 13th year of an endless war on terrorism, and officials in the war department have said that the war won’t end in another 15 years. Millions of people are wounded and killed in this war, many of whom are innocent bystanders. The Coalition for Peace Now believes that “you cannot create peace by dropping bombs,” and that “money spent on war is money that cannot be spent on education.”
The World Peace Forum will be held on Oct. 16 in the BC cafeteria from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. The Coalition For Peace Now has invited Dennis Kucinich to attend the forum and to appear as a speaker. The event will focus mostly on cheaper alternatives to war. As of today, the United States has a $17 trillion dollar debt, and much of it comes from sponsoring unnecessary wars across the globe.
Kucinich, the national leader of the Peace Movement, has been pushing to create a Department of Peace which would promote nonviolent conflict resolutions for the general public and our government officials, using one percent of the current war budget. Director of Coalition For Peace Now David Spring stated: “We also believe that war is counter-productive. It rarely, if ever, resolves conflicts. In fact, war makes conflict worse as both sides seek revenge. We advocate for an end to all wars, not only because they are expensive, but because they serve no positive long-term purpose. We would be better off (…) help[ing] those in conflict learn and use nonviolent conflict-resolution skills, which include such things as listening to those who disagree with us and seeking win-win solutions that benefit all.” That is the main idea for the World Peace Forum that will be taking place on Oct. 16.
“Dennis Kucinich is the national leader of the Peace Movement and have been for more than 20 years,” said Director David Spring. “He has been advocating for a Department of Peace in the United States for more than 10 years. He ran for President of the United States on a Peace and Prosperity platform in 2004 and 2008. He has also served several terms in the U.S. Congress during which he consistently opposed all of the wars the United States has been involved in. He has also won the Mahatma Gandhi Peace Prize. There is probably no one in the world better able to talk about the drawbacks of war and how we can achieve peace than Dennis Kucinich,” said Spring.
The Coalition for Peace Now has been publicly advertising the World Peace Forum, and the event is open to the public, so those planning to attend are encouraged to arrive early. The Coalition for Peace Now urges students and staff of Bellevue College to attend because this is an event directed towards members of Bellevue College who “are among the groups most harmed by endless wars,” said Spring.