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Last in a Round of Bullets

By Lisa Schirch, Center for Justice and Peacebuilding

Bullets travel in circles - one side fires, another side reciprocates. Tom Fox’s body was the final resting place for a long line of bullets in Iraq.

Read about the campus response to Fox's death

American soldiers wield guns to support democracy and freedom. Saddam Hussein’s forces used the power of the gun to terrorize civilians and threaten neighboring countries and the U.S. Those who killed Tom are part of the Iraqi insurgency and have their own reasons for wielding guns. If we understand their story we have a better chance of preventing more deaths.

'Insurgency continues to grow'

The number of people joining the insurgency continues to grow in direct correlation with mounting anger toward the U.S. According to a recent poll, nearly half of Iraqis now support insurgency attacks on U.S. forces. They are outraged at the ongoing destruction and occupation of their country.

Iraqis lament the almost total abandonment of reconstruction, community development, and grassroots diplomacy efforts that would build the foundation for their security.

Insurgents target Americans because they are angry at the illegal detentions of innocent Iraqi people, the widespread torture in prisons in Iraq, and the use by American forces of a chemical weapon, white phosphorous, that killed and burned innocent families who were in the way in Fallujah. The insurgents are mainly Sunni Muslims who are the minority and fear being left out of the new political context.

'Guns have no power'

Guns are a short term solution, whether in the hands of dictators, insurgents, or militaries. Saddam Hussein could not hold onto power through his brutal use of the gun. The Coalition Forces deposed him with guns, but military power cannot defeat the insurgency. Guns have no power to win the peace.

The more the U.S. has shifted its focus to fighting the insurgency rather than reconstructing Iraq, the more the insurgents have been able to recruit new, unemployed young men with little hope for the future to join them. When I was in Iraq in August, I heard many stories from Iraqi community development workers about the direct relationship between unemployment and insurgent recruitment.

When there is little hope for this life, people begin imagining using the gun to gain martyrdom in preparation for the next life.

Each one who picks up a gun believes bullets will create their desired end. But instead of bending the will of their opponents, bullets only harden the other’s resolve to keep fighting. No amount of overwhelming force can bring an end to the violence in Iraq. More guns will only make the situation worse.

Grassroots diplomacy

History suggests that terrorism disappears in the absence of the fuel of economic and political desperation. The U.S. needs the courage and leadership to work in partnership with the international community to invest in long-term solutions of reconstruction, development, and grassroots diplomacy among the ethnic and religious groups in Iraq.

We need to diligently support those undertaking grassroots diplomatic efforts across Iraq. Development and diplomatic tools can prevent and curb the growth of the insurgency.

Bullets ended Tom’s life. But they have not crushed his vision for a just peace in Iraq nor the inspiration he offers the living to join in the cause of ending the war in Iraq. Tom was in Iraq to end the cycle of bullets among Saddam Hussein’s forces, the Coalition Forces, and the insurgents.

'No bullets in reciprocation'

His body, his writings, and his work for peace all aimed for that end. There should be no bullets in reciprocation for those that rest in Tom.

We need a different path out of Iraq.

Thousands of people like Tom Fox risk their lives everyday around the world to oppose dictators through nonviolent actions, to document human rights violations, and to build relationships across the lines of conflict.

There are many people willing to give their lives for war. There need to be more people who give their lives for peace.
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Lisa Schirch is an associate professor at the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding at Eastern Mennonite University. Tom Fox took a graduate-level course with Lisa in the spring of 2004 in preparation for his work in Iraq and kept in regular contact with her about his work.

— article by: Lisa Schirch; posted March 15, 2006