WHAT WOULD THE WORLD PEACE FORCE DO?
DISARM THE PLANET EARTH
—ONE NATION AT A TIME

SYNOPSIS:

    Warfare has been a fact of life on the planet Earth
ever since tribes of human beings were able to identify themselves
and define other groups as their enemies.

    Once nation-states emerged, they often made war on one another.
But warfare is not the inevitable fate of our species.
It should be possible to settle quarrels between groups of people
without resorting to violence.
The United States of America offers a long-lasting example of
several states living at peace with one another for 150 years.
The 50 states of the USA do not commit war against one another
because we have courts of law that settle all disputes as they arise.

    The whole planet Earth could follow the same pattern:
Instead of going to war as a way of settling differences,
the parties could submit each controversy to neutral judges,
who would give equal time to each side of the dispute
and then create a ruling that might not be liked by either
but which would be a just settlement of their differences.

    As courts of law emerge for settling international disputes,
the need for national military forces diminishes.
And eventually, as our planet becomes more completely civilized,
there will be no need for national military forces at all. 
Because the 50 states that make up the United States of America
have good judicial ways of resolving all disputes,
none of them needs an army, navy, or air force.

    Disarming the Earth will take place one nation at a time,
beginning with those nations that obviously misuse their armed forces.

OUTLINE:

1.  THE WORLD PEACE FORCE
            WOULD REPLACE ALL NATIONAL MILITARY FORCES.

2.  SOME NATIONS ARE ALREADY DISARMED.

3.  THE WORLD PEACE FORCE
            WOULD DISARM RELUCTANT NATIONS.

4.  OTHER NATIONS WILL FORESEE WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO THEM.

5.  SOME FORMER SOLDIERS
            WHO WORKED FOR NATIONAL GOVERNMENTS
            WILL HAVE NEW MILITARY CAREERS
            WITH THE WORLD PEACE FORCE.

6.  LARGE NATIONS SUCH AS THE UNITED STATES
            WILL BE THE LAST TO DISARM. 

7.  PEACE ON EARTH. 



WHAT WOULD THE WORLD PEACE FORCE DO?
DISARM THE PLANET EARTH
—ONE NATION AT A TIME

by James Leonard Park


1.  THE WORLD PEACE FORCE
            WOULD REPLACE ALL NATIONAL MILITARY FORCES.

    As long as there are some groups of people on Earth
who cling to violence as a means of settling disputes,
an active World Peace Force will be needed as a counter-balance.

    But once the World Peace Force proves in actual warfare
that it can achieve peace better than national military forces,
then all peace-loving peoples everywhere will support the WPF.

    The first countries to be disarmed will be small nations
that have no legitimate need for military forces.
Some of these will be nations already defeated in warfare.
Some will have to be disarmed by the World Peace Force itself.
And some nations will come into being after world disarmament.
New nations will not even think of creating national military forces.



2.  SOME NATIONS ARE ALREADY DISARMED.

    Costa Rica in Central America decided in 1948
that it no longer needed any national military forces.
There were no natural enemies trying to take over their land.
And they did not feel called upon to impose anything
on other nations nearby or anywhere else on Earth.
Costa Rica has lived in peace for over 75 years.

    Germany and Japan were disarmed by the Allied forces
at the end of the Second World War in 1945.
These nations might never have given up their arms voluntarily.
But they were defeated by the armed forces of the rest of the world.
And both of these countries have prospered since they were disarmed.
For one thing, they have not had to devote significant tax-revenues
to training and maintaining professional warriors.
These defeated former enemies have remained peaceful ever since.
And the military forces of the winning side
have continued to quarter armed forces in both Germany and Japan
—ever since the end of the Second World War in 1945.
And in all of these intervening years,
there has been no threat to Germany or Japan
that had to be repelled by using the military forces still stationed there.

    Both Germany and Japan have small military forces for self-defense.
But basically these countries have been able to thrive
without much internal military culture.

    Several tiny nation-states never had any armed forces.
Often these small nations are protected by other countries.
Here is a list of countries without armed forces:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_without_armed_forces

3.  THE WORLD PEACE FORCE
            WOULD DISARM RELUCTANT NATIONS.

    The World Peace Force would have a permanent size
of one million fighting men and women.
Officers of the WPF would be stationed everywhere on Earth.
And it would be a policy decision which nation to disarm next. 
Small nations would be the easiest to disarm.
Even if a small nation had 100,000 soldiers in uniform,
they would be outnumbered 10 to 1 by the World Peace Force.

    All the necessary soldiers of the World Peace Force
could be stationed on the soil of cooperating nations
just outside the borders of the next nation to be disarmed. 

    Reasonable soldiers of that small nation would resign or give up
rather than face certain death if they resist. 
Because the World Peace Force would so outnumber any resisters,
there would only be a few casualties among the WPF.

    Most of the resisting national military force would not be killed.
Rather, camps for their imprisonment would be created nearby
so that every one of them would have a bed if he or she surrendered.
The term of imprisonment would have to be decided
depending on what happens in that small nation
once all warriors are completely removed from the population. 

    All persons in that nation who possess any weapons of war
would be offered two alternatives: surrender or death.

    Surrender would mean going to one of the camps for former fighters.
And if there were two or more sides fighting,
they would be housed in completely different camps
to prevent them from continuing their conflict in prison.

    The prison camps for former fighters would be in secure places
either within the country being disarmed or in a nearby country.
The news media would be invited to visit and photograph
the camps prepared for fighters who decide to surrender.
Each fighter would know that a bed is waiting for him or her.
All warriors would then see where they would live
until it is certain that they will never fight again.

    Death would mean being killed by officers of the World Peace Force.
To make these two alternatives as dramatic as possible,
even before the disarmament begins,
the World Peace Force would prepare a cemetery or two
for the warriors who choose death rather than surrender.
The news media would be invited to photograph the waiting graves.
And each fighter would be encouraged to imagine
which hole might become his or her final resting place.

    In short, the warriors of any nation being disarmed
would be offered the choice between a prison bed and a grave.
And sufficient time should be permitted to allow former warriors
to slip away from their units and to surrender very quietly
in order to avoid being killed when the World Peace Force
disarms the whole country.
Care must be taken to prevent former soldiers
from being killed by their commanders for attempting to desert.
In some cases, whole military units will surrender together.
Giving up their weapons, they would go to camps for former warriors.

    If the established government was a military dictatorship,
then the ruling class would have to go away,
since they would have no power without the military forces
that had been keeping them in office.
Some former dictators will choose death over exile
because they cannot imagine living without their prestige and power.

    After the country is disarmed,
after all military forces are disbanded,
and after any former military rulers have left,
some form of civilian government will emerge.
The World Peace Force would occupy all former military installations
until everyone is convinced that the military dictator will never return.
This full-scale occupation by the WPF could last for years,
if it takes that long to make certain that no one in that part of the Earth
will ever attempt to re-create any form of military force. 
Once a government without an army has emerged,
the WPF could be reduced to a maintenance-level for that country.



4.  OTHER NATIONS WILL FORESEE WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO THEM.

    After a few small nations have been successfully disarmed
by whatever force was necessary to remove all soldiers,
other nations might wonder when they would be next. 

    Everyone would be on notice that no national military forces
will to be tolerated anywhere on the planet Earth.
Individual members of the armies, navies, & air forces of those nations
would begin to think about other ways of making a living:
Their former occupation as professional warriors
for their nation is becoming obsolete.
Any protection the citizens need from foreign enemies
will henceforth be provided by the World Peace Force itself. 
And local law-and-order will be maintained by the local police.

    Dramatic examples will prove to small nations that resisting is futile:
They have a choice between being demobilized peacefully
or they can engage in violent conflict with the World Peace Force
—which the World Peace Force will inevitably win. 

    Governments that have been maintained by their military forces
will have to develop new systems of leadership and power. 
Military dictators will become powerless without their soldiers. 
Thus, other forms of government will replace
all forms that depended on keeping the people repressed
by violence or the threat of violence.

    See another on-line essay entitled:
End all Military Dictatorships

    There are now almost 200 nation-states on the planet Earth.
Perhaps 150 of these have their own national military forces.
Once disarmament has been successfully achieved for some nations,
other countries will wonder if they might be disarmed next.
The World Peace Force will focus on one nation at a time.
It could take as much as one year to disarm a nation that is resisting.
But each disarmament should be completed before the WPF
turns to the next nation that has been misusing its military forces. 

    The professional warriors employed by any nation-state
will realize that their days of being national soldiers are numbered.
They will consider what to do when their nation is being disarmed:
Will they choose a bed or a grave—imprisonment or death?
And some will peacefully resign from their national military forces
long before their nation will be disarmed by the World Peace Force.

    Some countries will voluntarily give up their national military forces,
especially after several other states have been disarmed by force. 
So, even if it does take a year or longer to disarm a resisting nation,
it will not take 100 years to disarm the whole planet. 



5.  SOME FORMER SOLDIERS
            WHO WORKED FOR NATIONAL GOVERNMENTS
            WILL HAVE NEW MILITARY CAREERS
            WITH THE WORLD PEACE FORCE.

    Since only the World Peace Force will have soldiers,
any man or woman who wants a military career
will have to consider working for peace
rather than fighting for the national interest of one nation-state.

    The World Peace Force will have to develop very good methods
of not employing soldiers who are still loyal to their country of origin.
Only former national soldiers who have proven
that their commitment to world peace
is higher than their commitment to their nation of origin
will be permitted to work for the World Peace Force. 

    This will require a complete change of mind
for people formerly motivated to join the military of their own nations
because of patriotic feelings and commitments.
Nationalists will not serve in the World Peace Force.
And those killed in service will have died for peace on Earth
rather than for the national interest of any particular country.



6.  LARGE NATIONS SUCH AS THE UNITED STATES
            WILL BE THE LAST TO DISARM. 

    For some interim period, the armed forces of the USA
might actually be serving as the soldiers of the World Peace Force. 
While still employed by the taxpayers of America,
they will be engaged in disarming other nations
and maintaining world peace. 

    But as the World Peace Force together with the World Court
prove that they can take care of all international conflicts,
then there will be no further need for the armed forces of the USA. 
The American taxpayers will shift their money to the World Peace Force.
And the amount they will pay for defense
will probably be about 10% of what they were paying
when they maintained their own national military forces.   

    With complete disarmament, there will no longer be any
U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, U.S. Marines, or U.S. Air Force.
All military tanks, ships, & planes will be dismantled as unnecessary.
Some of the former toys of war might be converted to peaceful purposes.

    The complete transition to an arms-free world will take several decades.
There will be set-backs when some nations resist being disarmed.
But world-wide communications
will allow peace-loving people in every corner of the Earth
to see the advantages of having a World Peace Force
rather than depending on their own national military forces. 

    To explore more deeply how the United States
might provide temporary world peace forces, read:
Enlightened Presidents of the United States
Could Use the U.S. Military Forces
as an Interim World Peace Force

7.  PEACE ON EARTH. 

    One hundred years might be required to disarm our planet.
And the pathway to peace will not be smooth. 
Many people will die resisting the World Peace Force. 

    But the lovers of peace wherever they are found on the planet
will do everything in their power to make it possible
for the Earth to be disarmed with a minimum loss of life.

    After all nations are disarmed, the World Peace Force itself
will necessarily remain strong to prevent any re-armament.

    As long as the World Peace Force is prepared for potential conflicts,
the peace-loving peoples of the Earth will turn first to the WPF
rather than attempting to re-arm themselves.

    By remaining in every country of our planet ,
the World Peace Force itself will maintain peace on Earth.


Created May 28,2011; Revised 7-10-2011; 7-14-2011; 8-14-2011; 8-17-2011; 8-18-2011;
10-26-2011; 11-22-2011; 5-11-2012;
2-2-2013; 8-29-2013; 9-18-2013; 9-23-2013;
8-13-2014; 4-17-2015; 4-21-2016; 1-5-2017; r4-25-2017; 2-15-2020;

AUTHOR:

    James Park is an independent writer,
living in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.
He speaks only for himself,
but he welcomes others with similar views to join him
in imagining the ways in which a World Peace Force might be created.

All of the Internet essays listed below have now become chapters of a book:
World Peace Force: Disarming the Planet Earth.
This discussion of disarming one nation at a time is Chapter 5.
Here is the complete table of contents,
which shows the rest of the book,
including some specific countries to disarm.

A new Facebook Group is just assembling,
which will discuss this book in an organized way
once the first 100 readers have joined this FB Group:
Peace on Earth:
Establish a World Peace Force,
Then Disarm all Nations
https://www.facebook.com/groups/199878276819122/

Here is a complete description of this free Facebook Seminar:
https://s3.amazonaws.com/aws-website-jamesleonardpark---freelibrary-3puxk/ED-WPF.html



    Much more about this proposal will be found in the following on-line essays:

WORLD PEACE FORCE

       World Without War

       The Meaning of Complete Disarmament

       Blessed Are the Peacemakers

       World Peace Force—100 Years for Transition

       WHAT WOULD THE WORLD PEACE FORCE DO?

       Eliminate all Weapons of Mass Death

       End all Military Dictatorships
       When National Governments Collapse 

       Separate the Arabs and Jews in Palestine

       Disarm All Sides in Afghanistan



Go to the beginning of this website
James Leonard Park—Free Library