We need peacemakers more than peacekeepers

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Even Hillary Clinton’s harshest critics agree that she’s tough. While it’s common to stereotype Democrats and women as softer than Republicans and men, any such effort to stereotype Hillary is belied by her record. She is tough. She has been through and seen it all, and she has come out stronger and more seasoned than any presidential candidate in a long time.

Today’s world demands a tough American president, but to move forward, we need to combine that toughness with an effort to build a worldwide movement of like-minded people dedicated to international cooperation.

George W. Bush was tough enough, launching two wars and doing whatever it took to combat terrorism. Barack Obama has continued a tough, muscular approach, with anti-terrorism efforts that killed thousands of enemy combatants, terrorists, even Osama bin Laden. While I disagreed with some choices they both have made, no one can argue that they haven’t done the best they could in extremely troubled times and in difficult situations.

I’m convinced that while we need to continue to take a tough approach to terrorism and efforts to destroy our way of life, it needs to be coupled with an effort to build a coalition of like-minded nations and individuals who believe that while we may disagree, violence isn’t the answer. We can’t kill our way out of the threats of ISIS, the Taliban and other radical terrorists. Eye-for-eye justice will never end until we’re all blind.

We often hear about United Nations “peacekeeping” forces, which often include soldiers, police officers and civilians from a variety of nations who are deployed to the world’s hot spots to keep the peace. We’ve all seen the news clips of soldiers with their blue helmets with the U.N. seal trying to maintain order during contested elections, trying to keep a ceasefire in place or monitoring peace processes in post-conflict areas. I think former Secretary Clinton should propose as part of her presidential campaign a policy plank that could help move the world a step further toward peace.

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