Five years ago on March 19, with great fanfare and waving of flags, the United States initiated an unprovoked invasion of Iraq, ignoring the largest protests the world has ever seen.

How did this happen?

To build support for the attack, the American people were bombarded with misinformation. Weapons of mass destruction. Imminent threat. Ties to al-Qaida. Greeted with flowers. Speedy victory. Building democracy. Oil revenues to cover the cost.

We were bamboozled by an extensive propaganda campaign that played to our worst instincts. Our gullibility has been costly. We are living with the consequences of a broken economy, shattered lives and tattered principles.

Consider some of the following costs of the Iraq invasion and occupation.

Dead U.S. soldiers: Almost 4,000.

U.S. soldiers dead from self-inflicted wounds: 145 (many more dead from suicide after returning home).

Wounded U.S. soldiers: Almost 30,000.

Returned U.S. soldiers with post-traumatic stress disorder: 30 percent.

Iraqi dead: Estimated 100,000 to 1 million-plus.

Displaced Iraqis: 2 million-plus within Iraq and 2 million-plus who have fled the country.

U.S. taxpayer money spent so far: At least $600 billion.

U.S. monthly spending in Iraq, 2008: $12 billion

War is a way of settling conflicts with all the finesse of a raging bull. It takes our youth and introduces them to the worst humanity is capable of. It can release demons inside them, maim them or take their lives. Few return from war unscathed.

War also is the deadly national analog of a toddler’s tantrum. Each is an immature, ineffectual response to dispute. As we mature, we learn to control our initial urges and deal with frustrations nonviolently. Similarly, nations can learn diplomacy, conflict-resolution techniques and implement long-range peace-building policies to respond to difficulties.

Learning self-control and behaving as an adult is not easy for people or nations, but it is necessary. On some level, we would like permission to act childishly and violently lash out against our adversaries. This human weakness can be exploited by unscrupulous leaders to manipulate their people into condoning war.

Because war is a primitive, brutal and wasteful way for nations to settle their disputes, wise political leaders rarely promote war. They have a vast array of conflict-resolution tools available to them and they enact peace-producing policies. They do not want their people to pay the heavy price for a national tantrum. Beyond that, good leaders have a sense of pride in doing their jobs well and war is an admission of failure – a failure of imagination, of preparedness, of intellect and of maturity.

Civilization has advanced enough to know that war is a last resort. Since the cost of war is so high – in abandoned principles, monies and lives – no sane political leader or country enters into war lightly. Throughout the past five years, there have been heroes among us, quietly and noisily, working for peace. In Monterey County alone, there have been vigils, demonstrations, advertisements, articles, letter-writing campaigns, and the establishment of a Peace and Justice Center. There has been a reinvigoration of the Peace Coalition of Monterey County (peacemonterey.org or letsbepeace@cs.com), a united peace effort of 23 Monterey County organizations that have come together to promote nonviolent solutions to world crises, to understand the causes and consequences of war, and to promote long-range policies for a peaceful world. Slowly, but surely, the wisdom of the peace community is being heard.

Most Americans are waking up to the fact that our involvement in Iraq is a tragic fiasco that we were duped into supporting. Too many of us were uninvolved and able to be misled and manipulated. If there is good to be found in all this, it is only that we have been forced to see that democracy is not for spectators. To live up to the goals and ideals of this country, we need to be involved. We must all do our part. The peace community welcomes those of us who are newly awakened. Together we can be the difference that ends the occupation sooner rather than later, saves lives, builds the structures of peace, and restores the good name of the United States.

Governments can wage war only with the support of the people. We can stop the nightmare in Iraq and prevent future misadventures by saying no to the lunacy of warmongers, and by participating in our democracy. With your help, a better world is possible.

RUTH SMITH IS ON THE COUNTY COUNCIL OF THE GREEN PARTY OF MONTEREY COUNTY.