While Anti-War protestors held a march on the streets of Tufts University, just minutes before his son made the case for war with Iraq in a speech in Washington, former President George H.W. Bush told a large audience at Tufts that a peaceful solution may still be possible.Delivering the University’s 2003 Issam M. Fares Lecture, Bush said international pressure can be a very effective tool in the region.

“The more pressure there is, the more chance this matter will be resolved in a peaceful manner,” Bush told the 5,000 students, faculty, staff and guests in attendance on Wednesday afternoon.

Describing the 20th century as “the bloodiest in mankind’s history,” Bush said the country “must learn from our history and not repeat our mistakes.”

He began his speech by urging students to take up careers in Public Service. “I am so proud that two of my sons are in Public Service” said the President. “It is a very difficult job but it is also very rewarding”.

Speaking on the Middle East Bush said “one of the most powerful images I have of my Presidency is when I went to the Madrid Peace Conference and I saw Arabs and Israelis for the first time sitting in a room, face-to-face, ready to negotiate” . He felt that peace in the Middle East is very possible if people can rise about stereotypes.

“I really do not give any advice to the current President. I know how difficult a job it is and I do not need to get in his way. But when people make baseless accusations at the President without understanding the clear picture it does hurt. It does hurt a lot when the President is your son and the accusations are baseless,” said Bush.

Clarifying the difference between 1991 and now, Bush said that in 1991 the situation was very clear. Saddam Hussein had invaded Kuwait. Also then, September 11th had not happened. “ We had a clear mandate from the United Nations and we did not go one step beyond the bounds of that mandate,” said Bush. “The situation today is not as clear as it was in 1991"

For any president, Bush said, the decision to go to war is a difficult one.

“Abraham Lincoln often referred to being driven to his knees by the weight of his decision to send young men into harm’s way,” Bush said. “I know exactly how he felt. And so does the 43rd President of the United States.”

Things that impressed me about Bush were his patriotism and his love and concern for his children and family. As I grow older I do understand that no issue is as black and white as it seems on the face of it. But I do strongly feel that war can never be a solution to any problem.

So what can we Indian Americans do on a individual level to encourage our President to make Anti-War decisions? We could reduce our energy needs by follwing energy conservation so that Americas dependence on oil is reduced. We could get actively involved in the political process so that our constructive alternatives to war is heard by the President. We could avoid working on development of weapons of mass destruction in the US. We could invest in research that is focused on renewable sources of energy.

At the end of the talk I walked away completely agreeing with President Bush that we must always "Choose Hope Over Hate".

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