Leaders and senior ministers from around 60 countries are meeting at what has been billed as the most important Nato summit since the end of the cold war with the situation in Ukraine and the threat of ISIS likely to be top of the agenda.One outcome of the meeting is the creation of a "rapid reaction force" prompted by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. This signals a shift of NATO from the mid-East back to defense of Europe.
Of course, we can't have any sort of meeting involving heads of state without an accompanying protest. In this case the target is NATO. The protesters are calling for its abolition, claiming it is a tool of US foreign policy that makes industrialists rich at the expense of the poor and hungry.
War is the enemy of the poor. The world's 85 richest people have as much as poorest 3.5 billion. The annual sum needed to end world hunger is $30 billion while the US Military's budget is $530 billion per year.
Money into war is money out of our communities. In the UK, 500,000 people had to resort to food banks last year. While public services are slashed, one day of war in Afghanistan could fund 100,000 nurses.Whatever points they might have, and however valid they might or might not be, their message is not helped by signs like the one below.
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| Protesters take part in a protest against the 2014 NATO Summit outside Cardiff Castle in south Wales, on September 4, 2014. |
Just how does that young lady plan on unilaterally imposing peace on those who do not want it? Pixie dust? Positive vibes? Unicorn farts?
I don't mock her desire for peace - that's something I think we all share - but I must question her common sense and understanding of reality.
Come to think of it, she'd make a fine addition to the obama administration...
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