A Broadcast by the National Public Radio on April 20,1999 -"All Things Considered"

A Better Way To Resolve the Crisis over Kosovo

The NATO bombings have been a tragic disaster since day one. Instead of stopping the violence, they have pushed a volatile region further into war and suffering. A Pentagon spokesperson said recently it is difficult to say that we have prevented one act of brutality. But what the Pentagon doesn't say is how the bombings have inflamed the entire situation. What we are doing is not working.

Rather then broaden the war by calling up over 30,000 US reserves and introducing ground troops, the Clinton administration should end the NATO bombing immediately. The United Nations should install a UN peacekeeping presence in Kosovo and begin negotiations with all the parties. And the US should begin massive humanitarian aid to all victims throughout the region, not only to the Kosovars, but even to the people of Serbia.

The entire world has a stake in ending ethnic cleansing in this war. NATO should not be deciding the world's fate. The United Nations needs to lead the way to peace in the Balkans. If the UN Security Council is stuck, then the General Assembly, including the Russians, needs to resolve this crisis. We have to go back to the negotiating table. History teaches us that there are always other possibilities. There is always an opening for peace.

The ethnic cleansing of Kosovo is crime against humanity but so is the NATO bombing. Bombings have never ended a war. Wars never solve problems. Violence never breaks the chain of violence, it only continues the killing. Martin Luther King Jr. put it this way, "Returning violence for violence only multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness,' he said, 'only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that."

It's not too late to heed Dr. King and the wisdom of non-violence. We must stop the bombings, join the voices around the world calling for peace and pursue non-violent solutions to the crisis before one more person is killed.