Wow!

As a World War II Era Guy, I never thought I would see the day when the Prime Minister of Japan stood beside the President of The United States, on the White House lawn, receiving full military honors as a visiting head of state.

The fathers of these two men were on opposite sides in WW II, each with a mission to kill the other. Peace is a wonderful thing.

So it makes me wonder about the hue and cry from some latter day politicians over the prospect of the new Iraqi government grantng amnesty to insurgents who may have killed Americans.

Yes, I would like to see these guys tried, convicted and punished. But, how long must the cycle go on?

When I was in the Philippines, helping make arrangements to repatriate 10,000 Japanese soldiers held as POWs on Leyte, I was amazed at the lack of hostility that existed between the POWs and the American soldiers. In fact, one of the POWs painted a watercolor of a giesha girl and gave it to me. It hangs on my wall to this day. For both the Japanese and the Americans, when it was over, it was over.

Perhaps today, in Iraq, we should all say it is over... and mean it. Forget about an eye for an eye, etc. There has been a lot of killing already. I know of only one way to stop it... to say "It's Over".

Obviously everyone has to agree. You cannot release people who want to keep killing. But, if the time comes when the insurgents are willing to quit the fight, let's all shake hands and say, "It's Over".