The Means are the Ends in the Making: Letter to Obama

Dear President Obama, I congratulate you on receiving this year’s Nobel Peace Prize. I feel you are most deserving for articulating and laying the groundwork to build a world without nuclear weapons. As you state this is a “call to action.” This must occur in parallel with the much harder work of eliminating war as an institution to resolve conflict. To paraphrase another Nobel Laureate Bertrand Russell, “man cannot simply eliminate nuclear weapons for it is only a matter of time before they return, what is necessary is the elimination of war itself.” As you weigh the significance of this prize, it places a special burden on your rethinking of Afghanistan. In the words of international mediator John Paul Lederach “bombing to vanquish the al-Qaeda network is like hitting a mature dandelion with a golf club. It just ensures another generation of al-Qaeda.” War is not the answer for “the means are the ends in the making”, process determines outcome. I look forward to working with you to make your vision a reality. Robert Dodge, M.D., Board Member Physicians for Social Responsibility Los Angeles – Recipient of 1985 Nobel Peace Prize here , Board member, Beyond War here