US Forces in Australia: Are We Waiting for the Next Big Thing?

Today I sent a poem to Foreign Minister Bob Carr regarding the US visit of Hiliary Clinton to Perth on 13th November.

My inner feeling was that Australia could take on a peacemaking role and be a mediator. We saw that cultivated by Gareth Evans when he was Foreign Minister.

US Forces are building up in the Asian region and in respect of Australia they are placing 200 troops in Darwin which will peak at 2,500. They are currently looking at a Naval base in Perth with the interest of deploying US aircraft carriers.

Now that Australia is on the Security Council this could be the moment where independence, responsibility and peace building is asserted in the name of real peace and security in the Asia Pacific region.

If Australia becomes an overt or covert base for US forces that could create provocation with the Chinese to the north west and increase tension and hostility, along racial and religious lines, with other ASEAN nations (Association for South East Asian Nations).

In my own vision I saw Australia as a true friend to the United States given the shared history. It is through friendship that we can speak honestly and frankly. What I love about Australians is their traditional honesty and mateship. I spoke to a professional soldier recently and he shared his experience in working with the US military. He mentioned a military weakness concerned Americans quick to shoot first and ask questions later. He regarded Australian soldiers as more contemplative. Perhaps a good friend can help them see the wisdom of asking questions first or indeed questioning their thinking, as Robert McNamara (former Secretary of Defence) stated in the documentary called ‘The Fog of War’ (refer http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fog_of_War).

Alternative dispute resolution, and mediation in particular, is one of the ways to peace. Australia could adopt a mediator role and broker communication between countries with concerns. Strategic skills such as problem solving, communications, listening, conflict resolution and solutions generation would assist others to come together peacefully so all can win. True democracy is firstly representing the people and sharing power.

I will be interested to see what happens with the Defence talks here in Perth. My hope is that the wisdom of peace is sitting at the table.   I do consider President Obama as a peacemaker, and given Gandhi is his hero, my hope is that he sees the wisdom in nonviolence as a key US strategy that re-builds trust.  The challenge is to convince the US military that true peace keeping is where the stability, honour and security are realised for the US and the World.  They have a great deal of work to do to restore confidence in their leadership, particularly in muslim countries.  Australia has the largest muslim country in the world to the north (Indonesia).  My vision is that they make peace not war as a reality not rhetoric.  Now is definitely the time for serious commitment.  Another war will sink the US as a credible world leader and another country or bloc of countries will fill the void. 

Peter Garrett came into my mind tonight when I felt inspired to listen to Midnight Oil. The song I listened to was very popular here in Australia in the 1980s called ‘US forces’. Peter was a rock star and front man for Midnight Oil now he is the Minister for School Education, Early Childhood and Youth.

My question is – Is the US build up of troops and presence in Australia and Asia catalysing the next big thing? These are the words from the song. I truly hope lessons have been learned from Iraq and Afghanistan. The US (and Australia) can ill afford more wars. Peace has to be the genuine option on the table and sharing power worldwide in the spirit of true peace and inner security. That is my vote.

I will post the song from Midnight Oil ‘US Forces’ and then my poem The 7 Steps to Peace.

To Foreign Minister Bob Carr… (and all world leaders)

The 7 Steps to Peace

Some are crying at the shape of the world,

Some are despairing for they feel the end is near,

That is truth the end is approaching,

But life is circular,

Life is endless,

From the ending will come new beginnings,

For human awareness is a season,

One must go through winter to reach spring,

Summer is the equinox,

The pinnacle of real hope,

As irises flower,

Within the iris one can see the future,

Of an imagined community,

That sees itself in the other.

Nature is constant transformation,

Transformative power is not militaristic,

It resides within unity of common purpose,

Our common future becomes visible to those who recognise the power in conflict resolution,

For this is the art of win/win,

For art is constant creation,

Inspiring humanity to look outside the box,

For we can recreate our common future,

One step at a time with peace of mind.

The first step is Dialogue,

The second step is Understanding,

The third step is Recognition,

That is to recognise myself in you.

The fourth step is Empathy,

For when I stand in your shoes,

I leave my world behind,

There are elements of truth in perspectives,

It is to focus on the truth not the failure.

The fifth step is Truth and Reconciliation,

For it is the truth that sets us free from revolving door conflicts,

The truth is a transforming power,

For the truth is true always just as rain falls from the sky not the soil,

It is not a half truth or negotiated settlement,

For the art of diplomacy is to persuade,

Not to resolve underlying needs with interest,

For a new world paradigm asks –

Is it better to be right or happy?

The sixth step is Harmonisation,

We seek to find common ground that we can share,

There is no loss only a changing mosaic,

For the philosophy of harmony is blending,

As differences expand into acceptance.

The seventh step or seal is Integration,

The sum of the parts encompasses the whole,

There is no separation in the world family,

Each gains more through the shared process,

For this is not a crumb or a carrot to reward or punish,

It is the smiling face of peace in contentment,

For peace is not a treaty document,

It is not the absence of wars of abuse,

It is recognising that world peace starts within every family,

In every relationship,

In every school,

For the school without walls is open to all.

The steps are a simple pathway,

It is a middle path that looks neither east nor west but starts in the middle,

It has no ideology to follow,

It has no religious mantra to repeat,

It shines brightest in the eyes of all children,

For they are the torch bearers,

That will hold a light to the future,

And together they will find their way home.

So be at peace,

Like a fool on the edge of a cliff,

Take a step and the others will appear,

For the fool continues to offer the olive branch no matter the perceived conditions,

The fool will be rejected,

The fool will be ostracised,

For always in great transitions there is fear,

Those who are peace makers will be feared,

Yet fear not those at the vanguard,

The truth will always set you free.