Lori Draper/ADN.com ...Consider just one of the peace-building organizations that exists today, Search for Common Ground. This group works internationally to address the root causes of violence, alongside those who are directly affected by violent conflict, and they are making a difference. They are working to implement peace-building processes, collect the data and measure their effectiveness -- and they are improving their processes all the time. On the ground training in collaboration, mediation and communication is transforming would-be warlords into peacemakers. For the price of four hours of the war in Afghanistan, Search for Common Ground could be funded for an entire year. For the cost of one year’s budget for the Department of Defense, they could be funded for 15,000 years! Talk about a strategy that would provide a good ROI.

...There is a bill about to be introduced in Congress that would solidify recent gains in the peace-building field and strengthen our national ability to avoid the next military entanglement, the next terrorist threat, and the next ethnic or religious conflagration.

Read the full article and learn more about the bill in Congress [HERE].