Man of War
Man of Peace

That picture is from today's ceremony in the Capitol where George W. Bush awarded the Dalai Lama the Congressional Gold Medal....By the way, the Dalai Lama had this to say about the Iraq war a week before Bush launched it:

The Iraq issue is becoming very critical now....Unfortunately, although we are in the 21st century, we still have not been able to get rid of the habit of our older generations. I am talking about the belief or confidence that we can solve our problems with arms. It is because of this notion that the world continues to be dogged by all kinds of problems.

But what can we do? What can we do when big powers have already made up their minds? All we can do is to pray for a gradual end to the tradition of wars. Of course, the militaristic tradition may not end easily. But, let us think of this. If there were bloodshed, people in positions of power, or those who are responsible, will find safe places; they will escape the consequent hardship. They will find safety for themselves, one way or the other. But what about the poor people, the defenseless people, the children, the old and infirm. They are the ones who will have to bear the brunt of devastation....Therefore, the real losers will be the poor and defenseless, ones who are completely innocent, and those who lead a hand-to-mouth existence.

Today, as the Dalai Lama called for peace, urged action to stop global warming, and graciously thanked Bush and members of Congress for supporting Tibet, he said nothing about powerful leaders who unleash war upon others and escape its direct consequences. I wonder whom he had in mind.

Posted by David Corn at October 17, 2007 02:27 PM