I refer to Oon Yeoh's Transitions weblog of Feb 25.

At the o­nset, let me say that Saddam Hussein is as vile a dictator as they come. o­ne need not look more than the way he has treated the Kurds and Shiites who live under his rule. I will also say that I do not believe in military action as a means of liberating Iraq from Saddam and his regime.

It has been interesting to note the growth of the US peace movement, particularly as I have had the fortunate opportunity to partake in the various activities that have taken place here in North America. It is interesting to also point out that the US peace movement is not a monolithic experience - there is no single view that can capture a definitive stance o­n the impending war o­n Iraq held by the peace movement actors, particularly when o­ne brings into mind the rationale for such a military action. Many factions exist within the peace movement: war veterans, lesbians and grandmothers are among the motley crew of this peace wagon.

With respect to the future of the Iraqi people, I sincerely believe that they should be liberated from Saddam, just like the liberated Serbs who removed Slobodan Milosevic from power and the Indians who freed themselves from the British Empire. I also believe that to achieve such an end the liberators must commit themselves to non-violent means.

When o­ne considers military action, o­ne must be reminded of the action's raison d'etre. Thinking back to Afghanistan, we should recall that the primary motive of the American military in that region was to purge and stem the tide of terrorism, not to liberate the Afghani people. In retrospect, we see that the US still suffers from constant nightmares about terrorism, with the nation being under "Orange Alert" just a few weeks ago. So, was that military action effective?

Osama bin Laden is still missing in action. Opium, a banned crop under Mullah Omar's Taliban regime, has become the crop of choice of the poverty-stricken Afghanis, three million of whom are still refugees in various parts of the world (according to UNHCR reports). It is also frightening to note how during the execution of that military campaign, Forbes magazine recorded an average increase of about two percent of the share prices of Raytheon, Boeing, and Lockheed Martin (all are major defence contractors).

So, again I ask, was Operation Enduring Freedom effective? Who did it liberate? In turn, I ask the same of the imminent war o­n Iraq. Will liberating the Iraqis from Saddam prevent from there being another version of him, God forbid, in the future? Will it 'democratise' the people of Iraq?

I am sure it is interesting to speculate and hypothesise how different Malaysians would have turned out if, instead of Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj leading the way to London for talks o­n independence, America had instead come ashore, armed to the teeth to send the former colonists back to Great Britain shell-shocked and battered.

Regarding the benign nature of America, I cannot but disagree with (Onn) Yeoh. A brief look at the history of US international politicking should disclose various issues: Noriega in Nicaragua, Pinochet in Chile, Saddam in Iraq, the installation of the Shah of Iran, and the training of Osama in Afghanistan are several notable and clear examples of America's interventionist policies. A brief reading of the works of the MIT linguist-political analyst Noam Chomsky should bear light o­n this subject. For those of us who prefer celluloid, the brilliant and highly celebrated work by Michael Moore, Bowling for Columbine, is also immensely instructive and is highly recommended.

In closing, as it appears that the military action against Iraq will forge ahead despite international protests, people throughout the world must find the inner fortitude to question current methodologies of conflict resolution. A paradigm shift away from military recourse and towards non-violent resolutions should be proposed to the leaders of the world. No, a paradigm shift should be shown to them, by us: simple, ordinary, thinking citizens of the world. Say 'Yes to Peace' and stop the war before it begins. Give our children a chance to see what peace can do, because war has shown how much we cannot.