I wish the pen (and/or prayer) could always be mightier than the sword. But I’m afraid I’ve seen evil in action – terrorizing innocent Afghans – and I believe it wouldn’t be right to let it go unanswered. If my family were victims of the Taliban in suburban Chicago, I would hope that someone would try to protect them. Each of us can only do so much. But we must do what we can…

Thanks for your encouragement.

But here’s what guides my actions: My goal is peace for all – especially those on this planet who have done nothing to invite oppression and suffering into their lives. I met many people in that situation in Afghanistan. They welcomed protection from terrorists. It is a very sad situation.

“[Peter & Paul] encourag[ed] them to obey the Roman laws of the state, indicating that government rightly maintains the power to execute justice by the sword”
I see no indication that Rome was right, any more than slavery is right – Paul tells slave to obey their masters also. And speaking of slavery…

“Similarly, imagine the plight of American slaves, had there been no Civil War. We could have been living with slavery to this day. Thankfully, we’ll never know.”
Sadly, we do know. Slavery is alive and well, and worse: we have globalised it, in some ways hiding it from view. Nearly all imported (and some local) goods you and I purchase, unless we are aggressively vigilant, involve some form of slavery.
http://gregoryo.wordpress.com/2009/10/28/comfort-zone/
Slavery (and its cousin, poverty) will end when enough people want it to end, not when some warriors claim victory over some others.

I also disagree with the premise that “Jews might have been eliminated from Europe entirely”. People groups are ridiculously good at silently allowing evil acts to others, but there comes a point where it is no longer accepted. Granted, the Nazis were perhaps more brutal than Gandhi’s oppressors, but just like with American soldiers in Iraq storming civilian houses, questions would arise. Soldiers themselves start resisting, and would-be silent conspirators start to speak up.

I am not zealously and unwaveringly opposed to war, but without good reason I see no logic in using it with the aim of peace. I have yet to be shown a good reason which tells me war should be instigated in the modern world, anywhere. In fact we’ve seen plenty of examples of war not working, how about we try a peace experiment? I still haven’t seen a story of a developed nation dropping enough food on a beleaguered to feed them all.