PEAC E THE NEED OF THE HOUR

There are many ways to define the word peaceHarmonious relations Freedom from disputes The absence of mental stress or anxiety The state prevailing during the absence of war

Peace is something that we all want to reach and this is not something new- for thousands of years human beings have been looking for peace, and that is because of the simple fact that there always have been wars in our human society. Why? In fact, it's normal that there are wars between people, nations, or countries. It's not a war for money or territory that we must consider, but a war for survival. With so few resources for so many people, it is obvious that humans will be worried about their own0interests!

So what can we do? Most importantly, we must change the way we see/view life. Our society is focused on material pleasures. We all run after objects that wrongly make us feel happy, although in fact, we are still incomplete. Peace is a true solution to build something strong and to make people understand one another.

TERRORISM

One of the most important issues in the international and national security policy of countries all over the world has become the fight against terrorism. Especially since 11 September 2001, governments have been making every effort to increase the fight against terrorism in their respective countries. However, despite these efforts, terrorist activities in various countries have not shown notable increase.

Here are some details of the most serious terror attacks around the world since 11.09.2001:

March 2002: Israel Three bombs, independently planned but all timed to coincide with the Passover festival. One hits a Passover dinner at a hotel in Netanya, killing 20 people. Another in Tel Aviv kills 29 and a suicide bomber attacks an Arab-owned restaurant in Haifa and kills 14.

October 12 2002: Bali, Indonesia Car bombs outside nightclubs popular with foreign tourists kill 202 people, 91 of them Australians. An Indonesian Islamist group with Al-Qaida links is blamed.

March 11 2004: Madrid Explosions aboard four commuter trains arriving at Atocha station during the morning rush hour. Bombs were in backpacks, and detonated using a mobile phone, killing191 people and injuring 1,800. Spanish government of Jose Maria Aznar conceded the attacks were the work of Islamists.

September 1 - 3 2004: Beslan, Russia Islamist gunmen take over 1,000 hostages, mostly children, at a school in North Ossetia. After a three-day siege many of the hostages are killed in an explosion in the school gym, after which Russian troops storm the building. The final death toll is over 330, many of them children. 800 more are injured.

November 26 2008: Mumbai, India Mumbai has frequently been hit by terrorist attacks, including a series of blasts in July 2006 that killed 187 people. On 26/11, at least 101 were killed by gunmen armed with rifles and grenades who led coordinated attacks on hotels, railways, hospital and caf. Many foreign nationals were also taken hostage. The attackers were members of Lashkar-e-Taiba, the Pakistan-based militant organization, considered a terrorist organization by India, the United States, and the United Kingdom, among others.

NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT

Nuclear reactions are used to derive nuclear weapons, which are highly explosive devices. A modern thermonuclear weapon weighing little more than 1000 kgs can produce an explosion comparable to the detonation of more than a billion kgs of conventional high explosive! Since the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings, nuclear weapons have been detonated on over two thousand occasions for testing purposes and demonstration purposes. The only countries known to have detonated nuclear weaponsand that acknowledge possessing such weapons are the United States, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, France, China, India, Pakistan, and North Korea.

Nuclear Disarmament refers to both the act of reducing or eliminating nuclear weapons and to the end state of a nuclear-free world, in which nuclear weapons are completely eliminated. But is a nuclear-weapons free world possible? It is possible but unlikely for the foreseeable future. Even President Obama said that he did not expect to see it in his lifetime and also said that as long as such weapons existed, the US would keep its own nuclear arsenal. There is no suggestion that nuclear-weapon states are ready to disarm completely.

The United States and Russia have substantially reduced their nuclear weapons from the tens of thousands they held during the Cold War. After a series of strategic arms treaties, they agreed the Moscow Treaty in 2002 under which they will both cut their strategic nuclear arsenals to 1,700-2,200 operationally deployed warheads by 2012. The UK has withdrawn nuclear bombs carried by aircraft and has cut the warheads deployed on its four submarines to 48 at any one time and to fewer than 200 in total. France withdrew its nuclear bombers and cut its submarines from five to four.

China appears to be the exception. The Pentagon said in 2006 that China was "quantitatively and qualitatively" improving its long-range nuclear missile force. India and Pakistan both have nuclear weapons but they are not parties to the NPT [Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty] and therefore are not restricted. Israel, which is also not in the NPT, is reckoned to be nuclear-armed but it has not confirmed or denied this. North Korea has carried out a nuclear test but has withdrawn from the NPT, as any party to it can.

The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) is an organization that advocates unilateral nuclear disarmament by Britain. It also campaigns for international nuclear disarmament and tighter international arms regulation through agreements such as the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. It opposes military action that may result in the use of nuclear, chemical or biological weapons and the building of nuclear power stations in the UK. CND was formed in 1957 and since that time has periodically been at the forefront of the peace movement in the United Kingdom. Even India has developed wide-ranging expertise in nuclear technology but has ensured through a stringent and effective system of export controls that there is no proliferation of these technologies for weapons purposes. India's record in this matter is, in fact, better than some of the NPT signatories.

EDUCATION FOR PEACE

According to the U.N., education that is directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms is known as peace education. It promotes understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups and furthers the activities of the U.N. for the maintenance of peace. Originally aimed at eliminating the possibility of global extinction through nuclear war, peace education currently addresses the wider objective of building a culture of peace.

Even in educational institutions, many teachers are already practicing peace education without calling it by name. In various parts of the world, peace education has been referred to as International Understanding, and Human Rights; Global Education; Education for Liberation and Empowerment; Social Justice Education; Environmental Education; Life Skills Education; Disarmament and Development Education; and more. These various labels illustrate the depth and diversity of the field. Using the term peace education helps co-ordinate such global initiatives and unite educators in the common practice of educating for a culture of peace.