We must be peacemakers everywhere around the globe, instead of starting wars and selling arms.
The September Eleventh Families for Peaceful Tomorrows organization was inspired by Martin Luther King Jr.’s quote: «Wars are poor chisels for carving out peaceful tomorrows.» Only through actions for peace can we save future generations from tragedy. As we remember the loss of nearly 3,000 people from 20 years ago on Sept.11,2001, we also mourn 13 U.S. soldiers killed in a terrorist attack last month in Afghanistan. The soldiers were evacuating civilians from Kabul after the Taliban takeover. Twenty years of war did not bring Afghanistan stability and peace. The war cost thousands of lives of both soldiers and civilians. The September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows were right to call for «nonviolent and reasoned responses to the terrorist attacks.» More people should have listened. Only through non-violent means can we achieve peace in Afghanistan. President Dwight D. Eisenhower visited Kabul back in 1959 on a goodwill tour and was greeted with cheers. What Eisenhower and King Zahir of Afghanistan said that day could offer us some guidance: «It is imperative that international disputes are settled by peaceful means and further concurred in the need for world peace, especially so as to enable the energies of mankind to be channeled into constructive pursuits of development and human fulfillment.
