Today, as on most days since Al Qaeda's surprise attacks on the U.S. five years ago, my thoughts turn to war. Not any war in particular - and there are certainly more than enough from which to choose - but rather, the insanity of war in general.

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"In taking revenge, a man is but even with his enemy; but in passing it over, he is superior." -Sir Francis Bacon

Today, as on most days since Al Qaeda's surprise attacks on the U.S. five years ago, my thoughts turn to war. Not any war in particular - and there are certainly more than enough from which to choose - but rather, the insanity of war in general.

For as we look today at a Middle East rapidly spiraling toward a wider and more devastating level of regional violence, it seems only rational to give voice to the fundamental question, "What good is being accomplished?" That basic query is the one which should be foremost on the mind of an enlightened society, any enlightened society, in its search for a solution to human conflict.

"Little, vicious minds abound with anger and revenge..." -Earl of Chesterfield

But, sadly, it is the single important question that has been left intentionally unanswered, willfully ignored and glossed over by petty leaders around the globe, who too often are consumed only by self-righteous justifications for their policies of murderous revenge against an "evil" enemy - even when they've had a hand, however slight, in creating that enemy to begin with.

"Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves." -Confucius

So what will be accomplished, realistically, by a continuation of the killing in Lebanon, Gaza, and Israel, or an expansion of that bloodletting to Syria, or Iran? To me, the only guaranteed outcome will be a perpetual cycle of revenge, a never-ending pattern of guttural, animal lust to strike back at those who've struck "first."

And why not? For each dead Lebanese child or parent or lover or friend, it's only logical to assume that there will be at least two survivors who will dedicate themselves to the destruction of Israel 'til their last breath. Just as every civilian death in Tel Aviv or Haifa or Jerusalem has left in its wake an Israeli devoted to the total eradication of those even obliquely responsible for the senseless slaughter.

"An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind." -Mahatma Gandhi

Which leaves me wondering: How does either side in a cycle of revenge really believe that war will solve the problem? That it will win allies and converts to "the cause"? That it will do anything other than affirm the grievances of the opposing party, and push millions of moderate thinkers from a place of rational and nuanced thought to one convinced of the "necessity" of tit-for-tat vengeance?

Where are the great statesmen, I fret rhetorically, who will strive for Francis Bacon's "superior" behavior, those who would see the bigger picture and seek restrained, long-term, peaceful solutions, rather than the quick and facile squeezing of an arbitrarily pointed trigger? Rotten luck for all of us that leaders of that caliber are in woefully short supply.

"If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other cheek also." -Jesus of Nazareth (Matthew 3:39)

And what of our own Dear Leader, whose unwarranted military escapade continues its own downward spiral in Iraq? The belligerent, violent policies and actions of our Administration in its crusade to "spread democracy" at the working end of an M-16 have made us no safer from acts of terror. They have only unleashed a deepening hatred of America throughout the Islamic world, glibly exacerbating very real problems and misunderstandings by perpetuating that cycle of revenge instead of working to interrupt it.

While the attacks of September 11, 2001 were a shocking, inexcusable act of callous murder, they were not the "unmistakable act of war" our leaders self-servingly made them out to be. They were a desperate and despicable use of violence by a motley band of criminal fanatics, for publicity, for spectacle.

Of course, the perpetrators and planners deserved swift and decisive justice for their crimes. But, as of this writing, they are still roaming free, their pursuit abandoned by a group of small-minded would-be despots with delusions of broader world conquest and subjugation.

"Be wary of the man who urges an action in which he himself incurs no risk." -Joaquin Setani

What we needed during that September five years ago was a leader who would put our grievous loss into perspective. One who would promise to find and punish those specifically responsible for the outrage of 9/11, and to simultaneously work to erase the underlying causes of a hatred so great.

A leader who would have recognized that, yes, even on September 12th, America was essentially still a nation at peace - and would have done everything within his power to preserve, protect, and strengthen that peace. One who would have diffused the knee-jerk bloodlust of the wounded American citizenry, cautioning and counseling us to move forward with diplomacy and restraint, despite the instinctive temptation to answer violence with violence.

"Control thy passions, lest they take vengeance on thee." -Epictetus

Instead, what we got was a wannabe cowboy with a bullhorn, exhorting a vulnerable populace with shortsighted phrases like "dead or alive" and "bring 'em on." A petty opportunist, surrounded by equally petty confidants, who sought only to capitalize on a horrible tragedy by fanning the flame of mob passion which naturally followed 9/11.

And to what end? An actual awakening to the root causes of anti-American sentiments in the Muslim community? Or an excuse to rattle America's global saber, a rationalization for putting a long-standing, PNAC-inspired plan of military conquest into motion, knowing full well that a vengeful nation would easily accept the spilling of any blood, as long as it was Arab blood being spilled?

"It is well that war is so terrible, or we should grow too fond of it." -Robert E. Lee

How unfortunate that the individuals who've so blithely rushed to war, and, in so doing, made America into a global pariah, were never in a position to fully understand General Lee's admonition. This manipulative campaign of pre-emptive revenge was fabricated and sold to a willing public by men who'd spent considerable energies in their lifetimes avoiding the potential horror of military service.

And so, with no first-hand experience of the brutality and depravity of war, they cloaked themselves in the flag, and callously sent tens of thousands of other people's children to be maimed or killed for their deceitful "cause," worried only about keeping the U.S. in such a state of irrational fear that their insidious machinations would not be exposed for the sham they so truly are.

"War is a cowardly escape from the problems of peace." -Thomas Mann

I suppose that, on the surface, it's easy to reject that contention. Cowardly? Surely, the service and sacrifice of our men and women in uniform can only be described as brave. And certainly, there have been countless acts of individual heroism displayed on the field of battle by those who want to believe they're doing the right thing.

But there have been far too many acts of inexcusable savagery as well, which is an inevitable by-product of war - and yet another reason it must be avoided at all costs. The cowardice on display for the past three and a half years is that which has been displayed by the architects of our invasion of Iraq, who, with that long forgotten sympathy of the entire world that we once enjoyed, had a choice in 2003 to stop the cycle of mindless revenge by focusing on those actually responsible for the 2001 attacks - and changing the attitudes that had enabled their influential rise.

"You can no more win a war than you can win an earthquake." -Jeannette Rankin

Instead, the actions of this Administration have brought us demonstrably closer each and every day to losing the supposed "war on terror." It doesn't take a genius to see that killing begets more killing. That hatred begets more hatred. And that a people exposed to hourly chaos, destruction, and death cares less about the benefits of their alleged "freedom" than about payback toward those who've put them in the midst of such a ceaseless nightmare.

Unless clear and strong voices rise up in opposition to the very idea of war as a lasting solution to regional differences, we should have every expectation that the current violence in the Middle East will only intensify. And as the "little people" who are bound to suffer most as a result of these wrong-headed policies of subjectively "righteous vengeance," it is incumbent on us to demand that our leaders put an end to the killing, and recognize it for what it is - the counterproductive folly of mean, small minds.

"Man must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression and retaliation." -Martin Luther King Jr.

Amen, Reverend. Amen.

Authors Website: www.bobportune.com

Authors Bio:
After 25 years as a Post-Production Specialist in the greater New York/New Jersey area, Bob recently relocated to Orlando to continue his editorial business and begin Art Directing high-end commemorative magazines. He's been extensively involved in television campaigns for The Brady Campaign To Prevent Gun Violence, Partnership for a Drug-Free America, The Nation Magazine, Senator John Kerry, Congressman Edward Markey, and the Democratic National Committee. Bob also writes "unfortunately sporadic" commentary at his blog, The Hue and Cry, which he bills as "a call to arms for competence, intelligence, and accountability in American society."