By C. Harrison Stevens, Guest Column

Become a Dialog07 voter on foreign policy issues about war and terrorism.

This focus on foreign policy was ranked of greatest concern to our first Media Dialog07 voters.

Begun in the Austin Daily Herald, Dialog07 extends into the Albert Lea Tribune and Rochester media (and the Internet at http://co.net/dialog/) with 7 p.m. live dialogs on each Thursday.

You are invited this Thursday to participate at Albert Lea&8217;s Christ Episcopal Church using wireless voting pads to help guide this dialogue on War and Terrorism.

Let&8217;s begin by seeing if dialogue can help resolve issues of war and terrorism:

1.

Can dialogue among leaders and diplomats reach consensus on how to end wars in the Middle East? U.S. wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, within a &8220;Global War on Terror,&8221; we are told might last 50 years.

Which ONE of these options do you most prefer?

__Expand current military strategy: These wars can be won to limit terrorism and bring peace to the Middle East.

__Revise current strategy: Maintain military presence, but look to diplomacy to involve other Middle East nations.

__Change strategy: Draw down troops in Iraq. Shift policy towards one of diplomacy and cooperation with other nations.

__Adopt new strategy: Immediately withdraw U.S. combat troops from Iraq and Afghanistan. No unilateral military action.

__Adopt new policy: End post-WWII and post-Cold-War weapons buildups, which motivate and can even equip terrorists.

__Comment (optional) ________________________

2. How, if at all, has your stance on the Iraq War changed since 2003?

__Unchanged. I was always opposed to this war.

__Now oppose it, after having originally supported it.

__Unchanged. I always opposed this war but now I view it as a facet of a much larger problem.

__I support it, and I believe we should remain in Iraq to be successful.

__Comment (optional) _______________________

3. Which of the following do you consider to be legitimate reasons for the U.S. war in Iraq?

(You may choose multiple reasons.)

__To deter weapons of mass destruction

__To fight terrorism &8220;over there&8221;

__To remove a cruel dictator

__To spread democracy

__To assure our access to oil

__To punish those responsible for 9-11

__To halt extreme Islamic fundamentalism

__None of the above

__Comment (optional)______________

4. Terrorism is a reality in our world.

How do we address this issue now and into the future?

(You may choose multiple options)

__Continue to build our military force designed for conventional warfare.

__Pursue further development and refinement of nuclear weapons and, if needed, other forms of WMDs.

__Strengthen the effectiveness of the United Nations in its ability to unify nations against the common enemy of terrorism.

__Curb exploitative activities of corporations and of global financial organizations that unintentionally breed terrorism.

__Condemn state terrorism and genocide as well as individual/cell terrorism; use U.N. sanctions and inspections to combat.

__Put U.N. peacekeeper troops under command of regional nations that understand local cultures and languages.

__Invest in multilateral intelligence-gathering & communications technology to help discover and root out terrorist activity.

__Optional comment:_______________

5. In this new millennium, what happened to the goal of a nuclear-free world?

Choose the ONE option you think is most valid and most important:

__We may need to militarily attack any nation developing nuclear weapons &8212; like Iran, North Korea or previously Iraq.

__All nations must agree to reduce nuclear arms, policed by U.N. inspecting nuclear reductions & suspected developments.

__All nations must develop clean, safe renewable energy to replace oil, causing wars, and nuclear power, spawning WMDs.

__First, electronically track nuclear power and weapons in all nations, with stiff U.N. penalties if any are found hidden.

__Nuclear reduction is an unrealistic goal because (please explain) _____________________________________

6. In which of the following activities might you participate?

(Choose all that apply.)

__Enter(ed) above War Dialog Ballot answers

__either quickly online at http://co.net/dialog/ or

__marked & mailing to: Dialog07, P.O. Box 413, Rochester, MN 55903

__Attend(ed) Thursday dialog meeting(s) usually on War & Terrorism in MN at:

__Rochester Government Center, in Conference Room 1, on Nov. 8 at 7 p.m.

__Austin Labor Center (across from Library) on Nov. 15 at 7 p.m.

__Hormel Nature Center (on Energy & Global Warming) on Nov. 29 at 7 p.m.

__Albert Lea&8217;s Christ Episcopal Church (204 W. Fountain St.) on Dec. 6 at

6 p.m.

__Austin Public Library (on Democracy & Reforms) on Dec 13 at 7 p.m.

__Participate/vote also in Dialog07 on __Energy and __Reform issues online at http://co.net/dialog/

__Vote in early 2008 at a Party Caucus or Presidential Primary

__Become a June delegate at http://unity08.com to select a P-VP bipartisan/independent ticket

__Encourage others to participate in Dialog07 (on war, energy, reform and candidates), in parties and/or in Unity08.

__Other (please specify) ___________________

7. Your name: _______________________________________________

e-mail: ____________________

phone: ____________ zip:_______

Thank you for participating.

Chandler Harrison Stevens is retired as CEO of Participation Systems Inc. (1970-99) and as a Peace Corps volunteer in Ukraine (1999-2001).

He was an independent Massachusetts state representative (1965-68) and a Minnesota Democratic member of the 2004 Electoral College.