War
#
The
ultimate
environmental
catastrophe - so far.
# Sales of weapons by the top 100 arms manufacturers
increased by 60% since 2002. Britain is one of the biggest offenders.
BAE is still flourishing in spite of cutting 15,000 jobs and is number
two in the world armaments trade.
#
Barack
Obama
often
does the unexpected. Now he has spoken frankly about
war (at the ceremony marking his receipt of the Nobel Peace Prize).
Here are some of the highlights :
"We
will
need
to think in new ways about the notions of a just war and
the imperatives of a just peace. I face the world as it is, and cannot
stand idly in the face of threats
to the Americal people. So yes, the instruments of war do have a role
to play in preserving the peace. And yet this truth must co-exist
with another, that no matter how justified, war
promises human tragedy.
"A non-violent movement could not have halted
Hitler's armies. Negotiations cannot convince al-Qaida's leaders to lay
down their arms. To say that
force may sometimes be necessary is not a call to
cynicism - it is a recognition of history; the imperfections of man and
the limits of reason.
"As
the
world
grows smaller, you might think it would be easier for
human beings to recognise how similar we are, to understand
that we all basically
want the same things, that we all hope for the
chance to live out our lives with some measure of happiness and
fulfilment for ourselves and our families. Given the
dizzying pace of globalisation, it should come as no surprise that
people fear the loss of what they cherish about their identities :
their race, tribe and, perhaps
most powerfully, religion."
# Campaign Against the Arms Trade - www.caat.org.uk