War and occupation of Iraq continue. Violence, atrocities pile up. More evidence of the killing of unarmed civilians comes to light as the death toll climbs both for Iraqi civilians (estimated by a study published in the Lancet Medical Journal to be at 100,000 more than a year ago) and for US Troops nearing the 2,500 mark. The wounded multiply. The deficits balloon. Post Tramautic Stress Disorder sets in taking its toll on individuals, families, communities. The madness of war threatens to overwhelm.

And then, as we look closely, we see acts of courageous nonviolent resistance shining through, providing seeds of hope. People are taking big risks. GI Resistance is intensifying. Christian Peacemaker Teams and others provide a glimmer of a third way, an alternative, effective way to approach violence and conflict.

First U.S. Army Officer Publicly Refuses Deployment
On June 7, 2006 U.S. Army First Lieutenant Ehren Watada became the first commissioned U.S. officer to publicly refuse deployment, stating "It is my conclusion as an officer of the Armed Forces that the war in Iraq is not only morally wrong but a horrible breach of American law. Although I have tried to resign out of protest, I am forced to participate in a war that is manifestly illegal. As the order to take part in an illegal act is ultimately unlawful as well, I must as an officer of honor and integrity refuse that order. . ."

Royal Air Force Doctor Receives 8 Months Prison Sentence
On April 13, 2006 Royal Air Force doctor Flight Lieutenant Malcolm Kendall-Smith, the first member of the British armed forces to be charged with disobeying orders to deploy in Iraq began his eight month prison sentence stating: "Iraq was the only reason I could not follow the order to deploy. As a commissioned officer, I am required to consider every order given to me. Further, I am required to consider the legality of such an order not only as to its effect on domestic but also international law. I was subjected, as was the entire population, to propaganda depicting force against Iraq to be lawful. I have studied in very great depth the various commentaries and briefing notes, including one prepared by the Attorney General, and in particular the main note to the PM dated 7 March ,2003. I have satisfied myself that the actions of the armed forces with the deployment of troops were an illegal act - as indeed was the conflict. To comply with an order that I believe unlawful places me in breach of domestic and international law, something I am not prepared to do. . .I still have two great loves in life - medicine and the RAF. To take the decision that I did caused great sadness, but I had no other choice."

Retired Generals are Speaking Out
In a Seattle Post Intelligencer Article on April 16, 2006, Erin Solaro chronicles the generals rising up as she writes, "In a New York Times op-ed column, retired Major Gen. Paul Eaton, who helped revive the Iraqi army, described Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld as "incompetent strategically, operationally and tactically" and called for his resignation. Retired Lt. Gen. William Odom, former director of the National Security Agency and now a Yale professor, said in a speech covered by the Providence Journal that America's invasion of Iraq might be the worst strategic mistake in American history.

Publicizing his book, "The Battle for Peace," in a recent "Meet the Press" appearance, retired Marine Gen. Anthony Zinni, a four-star former commander of the Central Command, describes administration behavior that ranged from "true dereliction, negligence and irresponsibility" to "lying, incompetence and corruption." Another Marine, retired Lt. Gen. Greg Newbold, has written in Time magazine that the Iraq war was unnecessary. . . .Lt. Gen. Bernard Trainor and Michael Gordon have written a history of the invasion of Iraq, Cobra II, which describes a willfully self-deluding planning process.

Now, on CNN, Maj. Gen. John Batiste also called for Rumsfeld's resignation; the Washington Post reported that Batiste, commander of the First Infantry Division in Iraq during 2004-2005, turned down a third star and a tour in Iraq as the second-ranking U.S. military officer there. He retired rather than continue to work for Rumsfeld.”

Christian Peacemaker Teams & Others Pioneer New Way
As George Lakey writes in an Op-ed for the Philadelphia Inquirer on March 28, 2006, Tom Fox and his fellow hostages of the Christian Peacemaker Team represent a seed of hope. Three of those captives were freed, while the body of Virginia Quaker Tom Fox was found on March 9, 2006. Lakey writes, “They went to Iraq, in Fox's words, ‘to stand with those being dehumanized by oppressors and stand firm against that dehumanization.’

It's easy to dismiss them as naïve idealists, trying to make a difference in the middle of chaos. But they are more than that. Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) is one of the ongoing experiments in humanitarian intervention. I see it as similar, in the political realm, to the early heart transplants: rare but holding promise for the future.“

George Lakey goes on to describe other similar groups including Peace Brigades International and the newly formed Nonviolent PeaceForce which plans to train thousands of people ready to be dispatched to crisis situations around the world. (see www.nonviolentpeaceforce.org) “

The abduction of the four CPT members, however, gives new meaning to the concept of "resources." The captors said they would kill the four in a week unless their demands were met. The week stretched to two, then four, and then much more. What the captors evidently didn't expect was the range of Muslim voices against taking the CPT members hostage. Protests poured in, not only from mainstream Muslims but even from Hamas and Hezbollah. Unlike U.S. and British military intervention, which has little humanitarian credibility to most Muslims, the nonviolent Christian Peace Teams are clearly the ‘real thing.’

The other kind of resource - major funding for expansion - has still not come to peace teams organizations. . . Third-party nonviolent intervention, as researchers call it, is not a panacea. Its small scale successes do, however, raise the question: Why not expand to large scale?

. . .CPT is experimenting with a technique that is both subtle and powerful. The contrasting response of the Muslim world to U.S. violence, on the one hand, and CPT, on the other, is dramatic. Will pro-democracy forces take what actually works for humanitarian intervention and increase its capacity a hundredfold, or a thousandfold? “

To see George Lakey’s entire Op-Ed on Humanitarian Intervention , visit www.trainingforchange.org