Does it? The Gulf War brought peace to Iraq, right? How about Korea... real peaceful, isn't it? Vietnam? Somalia? There's been so much success for all the wars fought by Israel, it's a real peace zone, isn't it?

Nor did WWI bring peace. Nor has thousand and thousands of years of constant warfare. With all that war, damn, you'd think we'd be awfully peaceful!

WWII might be the exception. Why the difference? WWII was followed by a massive campaign on the part of the US to wage peace -- to heal scars, rebuild economies, and re-establish friendly relations. Despite atrocities like the fire-bombing of Dresden and Hiroshima and generations of young men dead, that plan to wage peace worked.

Maybe, just MAYBE we ought to try breaking thousand of years of tradition and try waging peace for a change, with the same passion and glory and effort with which we wage war. Mudcat is all up in arms about Veterans Day. But when was the last time the nation declared a holiday to celebrate the relief workers, medical staff and volunteers who risk their lives to wage peace by building infrastructure, healing disease and training people?

Guess there's no glory in dying of dysentary in a remote village trying to teach people how to dig better wells. Better drum up another war so another generation of young men can die on the battlefield gloriously for a cause that they have no say in and have rarely been told why the war is really being fought.