Noah Haiduc-Dale

As anti-war efforts gear up for the Feb. 15 day of national action, activists must re-evaluate the peace movement in order to enhance their impact on the government. To be successful, only non-exclusive slogans are legitimate at this critical time in world history. Activists must lay aside all other issues in order to combat war. While there is a time for debating other issues, the time to join ranks despite those differences has come.

Watching the nightly news may understandably cause viewers to think that activists only want to overthrow President Bush. Caricatures of Bush with blood on his hands and life-sized Bush puppets with holsters are present in every rally, but even the simple chant "Drop Bush, Not Bombs" is counterproductive. Like it or not, George Bush was elected for a four-year term and still has two years left. (And no, he did not steal the election. He followed the laws of this country, and the Supreme Court upheld his claim. If you don't like that, get into politics and try to change the laws). Undermining the president is a foolish and self-defeating goal, one that minimizes the effect of the peace movement. President Bush will listen more carefully to respectful demands made by a wide swath of society than to angry threats from what he perceives to be radical elements of society.

The president possesses the power to wage war. Citizens can try to sway that decision, but their effectiveness lies in convincing the administration that not attacking Iraq is in its best political interest. The president, like other Americans, does not want to lose his job. Although two years remain in his term, his decisions are tied to the desire to win the next election. If pro-peace rallies are anti-Bush, the president will assume that those votes are already against him, regardless of whether or not he leads America into war.

The peace movement must be a unifying venture, devoid of partisanship.

However, if President Bush can be convinced that his own supporters are against the war (as many are), he will listen. Activists must tell the president that if he leads this country to war, there will be a new president in 2004. Yet, conversely, staying the hand of war will mean four more years in office. While this logic may go against the political leanings of many protesters, it is the kind of argument that just might change Washington minds.

Peace rallies next weekend must provide a platform for those who support the president but oppose the war. In order to do this, activists should abandon personal attacks on the president. Such sentiments alienate a very large and important part of society. While rallies across the country have already been enormous, they will get bigger only if pro-Bush Americans feel welcomed as well. No one should feel ashamed of carrying a sign that reads "I Support Bush But Not War" or "Republicans for Peace."

The peace movement must not be partisan. Hispanics, American Indians and African-Americans; teenagers and grandmothers; women and men must all feel comfortable at protests too. Unity in the peace movement is essential to embodying the very essence of what the movement calls for ÷ coming together in peace and defeating ideological differences that only serve to divide.

I hope the peace rally in Phoenix on Saturday at 10 a.m. in Patriot Square Park opens its arms wide to people of all political leanings. Moving beyond political discrepancy to stand together in the face of war is the first step toward peace on a larger scale.

Peace is not a partisan word. The peace movement must be a unifying venture, devoid of partisanship.