Anti-war and peace activism is about taking action (that is what activism is all about!)

There is conflict resolution, negotiation, consensus building, boycotts, non-cooperation, non-violent resistance, and many other tactics used by those who wish to shut down a government, a corporation, etc.

And none of the above strategies is more or less effective or time consuming than than bombing people back to the Stone Age.

But what I am interested in discussing here is not war vs. peace, or war vs. anti-war, but anti-war vs. peace.

I believe there are important philosophical differences, and I would say if anyone were going to be standing around hand-wringing it would be people who advocate peace, but have no strategies and tactics for getting there.

Case in point: yesterday, the Republic of Ireland re-interred the bodies of 10 IRA men executed by the British, and buried in Mountjoy Prison in Dublin.

There is a certain amount of "outrage" over this honor being paid to the IRA who fought the war of independence which ended in the partitioning of the country by the British in the 1920s, and the Provisional IRA, who have fought for independence for Northern Ireland since 1969. The pro-British folk claim both the contemporary *and* historic IRA are/were terrorists.

Their argument goes along the lines that anyone fighting against the British are terrorists.

It is this sort of ambiguity I'm talking about.