A simple question, but the answer is possibly one of the most complex things that humanity has ever come to grapple with. Perhaps it is simple from a “historical” standpoint – whatever the conqueror wishes, is enacted upon the conquered population – subjugation has generally been the most common throughout most of history, but there have also been several instances of “displacement”, which is in essence, removing the enemy population from the region you now control. Modern weapons have made the conflicts of the present some of the most destructive that humanity has ever seen. Sure, the brutality might be slightly less severe, as it was in the past when barbarism and what we would now consider “war crimes” were extremely common – the phenomenon of rape in particular can be quite jarring to modern conceptions of human liberty and personal choice. How is it possible that people could perpetrate such an act with horrifying regularity, across human history?
The publication of the Principia Mathematica, Newton’s work of science and mathematics which detailed a singular set of laws for all humans – the laws of physics – was influenced by the Renaissance idea of Humanism. The Revolutions of America, France, and Russia are a direct refutation of the “divine right of monarchy”. No longer would a religious explanation be accepted for the power of royalty over the common man. John Locke and Thomas Jefferson’s writings of human rights, extended from the duties of humans to their compatriots in life – the duty not to oppress, which grants the right to liberty. The duty not to kill, which grants the right to life. The duty not to steal, which grants the right to property.
We have duties to our countrymen. But to our fellow humans? It seems the nation to which they belong dictates our attitudes towards them. It is not a simple task for politicians to incense their populations to bloodshed, but clearly it is a historical phenomenon that seems to be inextricably tied to our nature as predatory creatures that had to evolve in a world of struggle – war seems to be the natural mechanism by which humanity feels the pull of Darwin. We must constantly be wary of attack from external forces, so a policy of readiness is adopted by all nations – those naive enough to be “neutral” while also having few forces of their own to protect themselves, will be preyed upon by those with forces of their own, that do not have such scruples about conquest. Their country must be placed first – other countries must look out for themselves. And so Germany walked through Belgium to bypass all of Frances defenses, and France was occupied by invading forces in 1942. They would be liberated two years later, when the Allies came to defeat the Axis powers and eventually bring the war to an end. But if you’re reading this, you know that this wasn’t the end of the story.
The Cold War began immediately afterwards. After the Nazis were defeated, an indirect contest of strength between the world’s two dominant powers began. Direct confrontation, in the light of recently discovered nuclear weapons, was too risky for either side to undertake. But this is old news to all of you – you might have lived through it, or read about it as many of us have. And little wonder – to many, the Cold War never really ended. Sure, after the Soviet Union collapsed, things were good for a few years. But it didnt take long for the clouds to come back.
Reagan’s meeting with the Afghan Mujaheddin in 1983, declaring them “in opposition to the forces of evil in the world” is a moment in history that strikes many as tragically ironic. The attack on the World Trade Centers by this group was the punchline of that joke of foreign policy.
The supplies granted to these radicals by the United States is most likely a contributing factor in the Terrorist’s capabilities to conduct the September 11th attacks. But who can say for absolutely sure? They won’t talk, and Reagan sure as hell won’t admit it.
en.wikipedia.org
Operation Cyclone
Operation Cyclone was the code name for the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) program to arm and finance the jihadists, in Afghanistan from 1979 to 1989, prior to and during the military intervention by the USSR in support of its client, the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan. The program leaned heavily towards supporting militant Islamic groups that were favored by the regime of Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq in neighboring Pakistan, rather than other, less ideological Afghan resistance gr…
I ask all of this because of the obvious question posed to many people’s minds at this very moment: is America going to War with Iran? If they do, how will it end? Like Afghanistan, draining the American Federal budget in a morass of bad decisions past and present? Like Vietnam, with the world’s best-equipped and most fearsome military on the planet being kicked out by Rice Farmers with “inferior” communist technology, running out of the jungle with their tail between their legs?
Are we really watching the beginning of World War Three? Some say that the second never really ended – it just bled over into the Cold War, called such because for the population of America, they were never directly “at war” with the Soviets – but on the world stage, the conflict was raging on in pockets across the planet. South America, East Asia, the Middle East – The contest between the USSR and the USA was probably the most defining aspect of the last few decades of history, and continues to define our modern landscape of politics. China still clings to their dictatorial stances, and our complicity in their rise to power cannot be ignored – they can only afford the prisons to keep political prisoners for organ extraction because we have been buying their plastic garbage, produced with no health regulations for workers, for decades without questioning the repressive nature of their government.
Iran is on everyone’s mind. With the death of a top general, who helped the middle east fight some of the worst enemies it had ever seen – arguably created by the American invasion of Iraq to begin with – being killed by those same Americans while he was travelling abroad, is not going to end there. I imagine the troops being stationed in Iraq and so forth are preparing for offensives in Iran at this very moment. The ending of the nuclear deal makes it easier to justify an invasion – the risk involved with a country as totalitarian as Iran is very worrisome. Things are heating up. How will it end, is my question. With even more destruction? Unfortunately, if I had to guess, that is what I would predict. I don’t think the Middle East will see any semblance of peace for years to come. The destabilization reaped by the Iraq invasion, and Trump’s hilariously inept foreign policy actions (remember the Kurds and that whole debacle?), have only served to make ISIS stronger and the civilians of the area in more danger.
Box of Soap 