Right on, Zinn.

• Author: Kaufman, John
• Position: Letters to the Editor - Letter to the editor

It is good to hear Howard Zinn speaking out on the abolition of war in "After the War" (January issue).

We pacifists have long argued for the abolition of war through legal means as the next step in the moral development of the United States, an argument that even many in the progressive community have dismissed as unrealistic.

But thoughts of abolishing war go back as far as Emerson, who argued that the bravest would have to go "one step beyond the hero" (the military hero) and refuse violent means, come what may. The abolition of slavery was once thought to be impossible, as were most of the humane improvements of life here and abroad.

The sad and little acknowledged truth about the war in Iraq is that it was the invasion of Afghanistan (approved by an overwhelming majority of "liberals") that set the stage for the arrogant and imperial expedition across the desert. Until we as a nation denounce war and disarm our vast...