"I was wrong" A peace activist changes his mind after seeing Iraq first hand

How do you admit you were wrong? What do you do when you realize those you were defending in fact did not want your defense and wanted something completely different from you and from the world?

This is my story. It will probably upset everybody - those with whom I have fought for peace all my life and those for whom the decision for war comes a bit too fast.

I am an Assyrian. I was born and raised in Japan where I am the second generation in ministry after my Father came to Japan in answer to General Douglas Macarthur's call for 10,000 young people to help rebuild Japan following the war.

As a minister and due to my personal convictions I have always been against war for any and all reasons. It was precisely this moral conviction that led me to do all I could to stop the current war in Iraq.

From participating in demonstrations against the war in Japan to strongly opposing it on my radio program, on television and in regular columns I did my best to stand against what I thought to be an unjust war against an innocent people - in fact my people.

As an Assyrian I was told the story of our people from a young age. How my grandparents had escaped the great Assyrian Holocaust in 1917 settling finally in Chicago.

Currently there are approximately six million Assyrians - approximately 1.2 million in Iraq and the rest scattered in the Assyrian Diaspora across the world.

Without a country and rights even in our native land it has been the prayer of generations that the Assyrian Nation will one day be restored and the people of the once great Assyrian Empire will once again be home.

It was with that feeling, together with supplies for our Church and family that I went to Iraq to do all I could to help make a difference.

The feeling as I crossed the border was exhilarating - `home at last, I hought, as I would for the first time visit the land of my forefathers.

The kindness of the border guards when they learned I was Assyrian, the taxi, the people on the street it was like being back `home` after a long absence.

Now I finally know myself! The laid back, relaxed atmosphere, the kindness to strangers, the food, the smells, the language all seemed to trigger a long lost memory somewhere in my deepest DNA.

The first order of business was to attend Church. It was here where my morals were raked over the coals and I was first forced to examine them in the harsh light of reality.

Following a beautiful `Peace` to welcome the Peace Activists in which even the children participated, we moved to the next room to have a simple meal.

Sitting next to me was an older man who carefully began to sound me out. Apparently feeling the freedom to talk in the midst of the mingling crowd he suddenly turned to me and said `There is something you should know.` `What` I asked surprised at the sudden comment.

`We didn't want to be here tonight`. he continued. `When the Priest asked us to gather for a Peace Service we said we didn't want to come`. He said.

`What do you mean` I inquired, confused. `We didn't want to come because we don't want peace` he replied.

`What in the world do you mean?` I asked. `How could you not want peace?` `We don't want peace. We want the war to come` he continued.

I have walked in East Berlin (back in the early '80s when there was such a thing). I have seen the hoplessness - the dead eyes - the existing. I have seen some small measure of what Mr Jackson speaks of and it changed me far more profoundly than any other event in my life.

It truely rips your heart out.

Prayers to our men and weomen in uniform.
Prayers for the POWs
Prayers for the good people of Iraq - what ever their faith.

What gets me about these people is they are so sure of themselves. They think we are imbeciles that have never had an original thought and they are so inteligent and warm and understanding. What we all believe is important and it has consequences. I like to do "What If's" on the subjects I ponder. What if the peace movement was larger than it is or we had Gore for prez? That would mean more misery and death in Iraq than a war would bring. If America fights this war like I believe it will, the deaths of civilians could be under 1000 or so. How many would have died at the hands of this butcher this year without the war? 5000? Maybe 10000? How about another year of grinding poverty? What if you have an easily treatable disease but no drugs to treat it? The anti-US people have complained about all the children dying because of the sanctions placed on Iraq, but there is plenty of money, it just goes for WMD and palaces, not food and medicines. This is the major malfunction of the liberal education. A dose of reality will fix almost any illusion of utopia one might have.

Most things in my mind come back to the second amendment. Our founders wisdom knew from experience that an armed citizen would not be a slave very long. Notice in the article only Bath party members are given weapons? The peacenick should have seen the writing on the wall then. I wonder if he see's the 2nd amendment the same way as he did before?(I'm betting he was anti- gun in Japan) The liberal education people get, here and around the world is only designed to get the masses to drink the kool-aid of the unseen powers to make our enslavement posible. Conservatives could be lined up and shot today and the liberals would say it is for the good of mankind. They will praise Sadam and wish for 1000 Somalia's for our troops. Woe to those that call evil good and good evil. It matters what you believe!

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