A way to stop war?

It is well that Prime Minister John Major is hesitating to commit British troops to Bosnia. It is evident that the way to stop wars is not by accelerating the pace - sending troops and armaments - and causing more killing and devastation. An individual is just as dead when killed by a United Nations bullet as by a Serbian bullet.

The way to end wars would be to put a total embargo on the shipment of arms to friends, enemies, allies, and neutrals. If the belligerents cannot get weapons, then they cannot fight. It's as simple as that.

Since selling armaments is such a lucrative business, this embargo may be difficult to get through legislatures. Arms manufacturers and dealers have so much wealth and clout that their opposition is bound to be massive. But public opinion can be rallied by opponents to war.

If one-tenth of the money being spent to stop the carnage in Bosnia and Somalia were diverted to help the economies of some troubled nations, the world would progress more rapidly into a peaceful 21st century. Edith Osborn, Victoria, B.C.

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