Ewan, as an American wholly opposed to both the perpetual war (on terrorism now) and the amping up of the specific war on Iraq that has gone on now for over a decade, I couldn't agree with you more.

I am guardedly optimistic that the global outpouring of anti-war sentiments in recent weeks will result in people educating themselves to the point where they can change the paradigm in thinking to exactly what you said: using the international body that already exists to prevent wars, and intervene to stop them. We must change our thinking to the point where we all agree that the international body must be responsible for global policing, not the US/UK alliance or NATO.

International disarmament of the current and former super-powers must once again rise to the top of the international relations agenda. The three most recent presidents have done nothing for disarmament. Nothing. And Bush is arrogantly and brazenly abbrogating the treaties the US has already signed. Nothing is being done to stop India from testing missiles, to stop Pakistan from testing nuclear weapons, or to bring North Korea into the world community. Nothing.

But nothing will change until the people of the world's democracies start to demand change from their political leaders, and demand that the necessary resources and political support be put into the international bodies that already exist to do the job of global policing to prevent and stop wars, rather than bullying the world into starting new ones.