Yes to development – No to escalation

If you’re a reluctant "petition signer" only because you wonder about the effectiveness of online petitions, here’s one that might carry added weight. Why?  It’s sponsored by Sojourners, a magazine started by social justice and peace advocate Jim Wallis. And Wallis is a friend, even something of a mentor, to the US president.

This link will take you to a petition asking Barack Obama to support economic development, not military escalation, in Afghanistan. Instead of more troops, it asks the President to…

erect schools for young women, strengthen civil society institutions, promote traditional justice mechanisms that encourage the rule of law, clean up old weapons and landmines, foster local agricultural projects, and make similar efforts.

Providing a better life for the people will provide greater stability than sending additional military forces.