If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
The Blog
Much about Syria's continuing carnage remains unclear -- above all, what outsiders can do to stop it. But there are also undeniable facts.
One can only imagine how much more successful the NATO gathering would have been had its members attended April's summit of Nobel Peace Laureates.
When I was an Army ROTC cadet at Georgetown University, we were taught the importance of being "warrior scholars." This Memorial Day it seems fitting to consider the raw brainpower that complements our civilian leadership at NATO.
Here in my city of Chicago, as NATO gathers amid displays of military force as well as protests, I pray for comfort for all those who have lost a loved one to the ravages of war. I pray that the peace of Christ, which passes all human understanding, will knit together this weary and war-torn world.
Despite the fact that NATO might be "the most successful military alliance the world has ever seen," our transatlantic bonds go far beyond combined military operations. They are interwoven into the very fabric of our society.
We should use this Memorial Day as an opportunity to remember the sacrifices that American soldiers of all social and political stripes have made in defense of our country.
At a time when Western leadership is being questioned, encouraging Turkey's emergence as a responsible transatlantic partner in regional stability has never been more necessary.
Now that the NATO summit has decided to transfer power to the Afghans, it is very important that the Afghan armed forces reflect the country's ethnic diversity and become as representative as the democracy they intend to protect.
Shouldn't we put NATO out of its misery? To answer that, just look at Libya -- and then Syria.
Monday morning's headlines did nothing to burnish the city's reputation, and the $128 million that summit boosters said would be injected into the city's economy turned out to be a figment of their imagination.
Simply instituting a democracy is not enough for the future viability of Afghanistan. There needs to be discussion and increased thought behind what that democracy should look like, and how it can best fit the Afghan model.
In the face of the government's growing power, we are all lumped into the same category: potential nuisances and rabble rousers who must be surveilled, silenced and, if necessary, shut down.
Two theater pieces reminded me that the perennial "crisis of theater" as no longer relevant for art audiences -- let alone politics -- is once again easily defied. Sometimes being a theater audience is the only way to get at the truth of the "real" thing.
There are real international security problems, and some entity should certainly be addressing them. But is NATO the proper entity?
NATO's founding purpose no longer exists, but NATO continues to circumvent the authority of the United Nations and to provoke other nations. Instead of trying to bolster the organization, we should begin serious discussions to dismantle it.
More than two million Americans have served in Iraq and Afghanistan. CNN and Fox can focus on what they want, but you can't hide the life experiences of two million people indefinitely.
