War: not as popular as it used to be
For thousands of years wars have shaped the way that we live. They have the power to create, and the power to destroy. Without them change would be less frequent; for when i say change i mean political, cultural and economic change. You can argue that this change is a good thing because it allows the strongest, best and most efficient ideas to come to light.
Think how different the world would be if King Harold hadn’t been killed at the Battle of Hastings, or if the German army hadn’t been crushed at Stalingrad or even if the Athenians hadn’t repelled the Persian assault at Marathon.
So, i find myself asking the question “why has war become so unpopular with the public”? As recently as World War One, soldiers thought that war was a good opportunity for adventure and a chance to see the world. I am not trying to say that World War One was a good thing, i am just trying to see why peoples views of war have changed so quickly.
Take the war in Iraq as an example. People turned out in their thousands to protest about the conflict. This is something we would never have seen 50 years ago. Fair enough, out governement lied to us about the weapons of mass destruction, but by going to Iraq, the coalition overthrew Saddam Hussein’s evil and corrupt dictatorship. People like him need to be stopped before their ideas can spread.
Hussein is clearly a man with no morals, and no regard for human life, so i am glad that he was stopped.
Maybe Western democracy isn’t perfect, but it is far better to be free than to be oppressed by a leader that you didn’t elect.
As the conflict between Israel and Palestine continues, i for one fully support Israel in what they do. Any Palestinian who thinks that blowing themselves up is a way to achieve something is clearly a fool. Suicide bombers are like mindless robots hell bent of destruction. As far as i am concerned they can burn in hell, along with their stupid fascist ideals.
If watching films has taught me anything, its that the good will always triumph over evil. So we should do all we can to destroy right wing extreme ideas. The way to do this is through military force. I say, send more troops to Afghanistan and Iraq. Invade Burma, North Korea and Zimbabwe. Overthrow the dictators and fascists and let the people be free!
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It does not bother me that we went to war with Iraq. What does bother me is that people believe Saddam Hussein did not keep control of the country. Until it was invaded, things may not have been how we in our culture like them to be, but that is not our culture. We destroyed their way of life, it worked for them and their coutry survived. We fucked Iraq.
A very thoughtful comment Dave. I’m not sure you’re entirely correct in saying that wars were popular up to WWI, wars were often criticised and hated, although the power and will to campaign by the thousand wasn’t there. Certainly you are right about WWI, the jingoism that existed made soldiers want to join up to, as you say, “see the world”. I believe the horrific death toll of that war may have been the cause of the ever greater repulsion to war today. “I say, send more troops to Afghanistan and Iraq.” I agree, it’s a controversdial thing to say but the country cannot be allowed to degrade into all-out civil war. However, it may be difficult to send troops without massive cost (both monetary and political). We should praise the current government for their ability to take decisions which are not politically popular but are the right way forward. “Invade Burma, North Korea and Zimbabwe.” You’ve missed out a few but the point is there. However, we certainly do not have the capability to do this at the moment. I disagree with the last point however, an invasion of North Korea would entail an enormous loss of life. Even if the ensuring conflict remained conventional, Kim Jong Il has enough artillery stationed in range of Seoul to kill millions. He will certainly not fall without a fight. The only way to defeat him is to impose heavy sanctions (which the UN thankfully has started to do) in order to collapse the regime. We should not worry about the consequences of the regime collapsing for it is an inevitability. The only other way is for China to open her borders, thus provoking massive emmigration from North Korea and causing a collapse of the regime. However, this would be politically and economically disatrous for China, so it will not happen. “Overthrow the dictators and fascists and let the people be free!” A nice point, although slightly ironic as you previously said “You can argue that this change is a good thing because it allows the strongest, best and most efficient ideas to come to light”. I assume you are not arguing this as it sounds suspiciously like something a social-Darwinist would say. Social-Darwinism is, of course, one of the hallmarks of fascism.
dave agreed with alot of it suprisingly but the israel palestine thing….. they do both have suicide bombers and technically the jews where there first. And many suicide bombers are young people easily influenced by extremist barstards in their religeon so maybe you should blame not only the bombers who create the devastation but also the extremists who wouldnt do it themselves and get kids to do it.
And Chris’ comment pissed me off, i wonder if the suni muslims minded being exploited to “test” out saddams biological weapons in the 90’s?
bollocks i missed out the g in kim jonG ill
Exploition is not a matter of caring. It happens everywhere, everyday to almost everyone. So it’s more extreme in one place to another. People are not the same, people live in different cultures, societys races and whatever else you can throw into it. Just because something does not fit in with our specific culture does not mean we should try and get rid of it. Hitler hated the Jews, he tried to get rid of them. I reckon we’re just as bad in that sense, but I will admit that we are trying to get rid of more serious problems. But if somethings not broken, why break it?
Seriously Chris, there has a limit to your moral relativism here, we cannot stand by and allow people to suffer the kind of abuses that they suffered under Hussein, something was clearly broken - and that’s not just our values being pressed forwards, recall the scenes of jubilation when the statue of Saddam was toppled, recall the celebrations in Iraq when he was found in that hole. Yes, there is less law and order now but the ends does not justify - nor fail to justofy - the means, and even if you seek to claim that it does, the end for Iraq may turn out better for everyone - if we have the guts to stay and war does not become too unpopular - a point I think Dave was making.
I’m being either too negative or your too positive. I stand by what I have said. War is not popular enough and people will not be willing to stay. We will not have achieved anything but please the people in toppling a statue, now what do they want? Us to get out of their country, so why haven’t we? If it was about pleasing people then we wouldn’t still be there. It’s got nothing to do with freeing people, they’re free so lets go. No there’s more to it than that. Greedy Fat Americans.
Wow, Saddam Hussein might be put to death in the next 2 days. That is some heavy stuff!