Bobert, Of course Peace is a great idea, Of course there are better ways to solve conflict. But I believe what we have to hope for and work for is that EVERY Department of the the government, especially those which deal with other countries, is concerned with peace. I am not out to defend business as usual, I just don't see another bureaucracy as being a solution. The barriers to this being that (1)war related interests have so much money and lobbying power. (2) There is no peace without strength cutting back on defence per se will not help. (3) We already have a number of institutions which address these issues. Why not simply put more effort and resources into those?