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Editorial: Coming to the National Mall: A place of peace
Published 12:00 am PDT Sunday, June 17, 2007
Story appeared in FORUM section, Page E6
It has been said that history is the story of wars. But what about the story of peace?
Imagine a place that draws schoolchildren, tourists and prime ministers alike to see exhibits and films about solving international conflict. Imagine a steel and glass building with a roof adorned with arches resembling the wings of doves. Imagine a place where people are trained in prevention, conflict management and the resolution of violence.
Last week, the vision moved closer to reality. The U.S. Institute of Peace, a nonpartisan, government-funded research and training institution in Washington, D.C., got the go-ahead on its design plans. It can begin building its headquarters near the Potomac River, on a corner of the National Mall, this year.
The institute has operated since the 1980s -- lately in leased space -- with these goals in mind:
• Prevent and resolve violent international conflicts.
• Promote post-conflict stability and democratic transformations.
• Increase peace-building capacity, tools and intellectual capital worldwide.
The institute provided the scholarly and logistical support to the Iraq Study Group, which in December offered the Bush administration recommendations to end the Iraq war. It has provided peacemaking grants in 76 countries.
Travelers to the National Mall can visit stirring reminders of the sacrifices of American soldiers in Asia and the battlefields of Europe and the Pacific islands. The memorials stand in tribute to historic service.
What would happen if there were a marker about another sense of shared purpose in America: a strategy for peace? Would tourists flock there, too?
We think they would.
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