name: Yuram Abdullah Weiler
Comments and thoughts of an American Muslim on US Foreign policy in the Middle East and the so-called War on Terror,examining the contradictions from a perspective of justice, fairness and human rights.
Give War a Chance
01 March, 2008
Recently, I saw two bumper stickers on the back of a truck, one of them read, "Give War a Chance," and the other, "War never solved anything except for ending Slavery, Fascism, Nazism and Communism." I was really at a loss as to how, if presented with an opportunity, to respond to the absurd messages on these bumper stickers and pondered at length over various approaches that I could employ.
If I were to take the messages literally…
I could argue that war has not done away with any of these ideologies, since modern slavery[i] persists in the US and elsewhere in the world, fascism still exists in some countries and many of its characteristics are manifested in the Bush regime,[ii] while Nazism has been resurrected in Germany, Austria and Russia[iii]. Finally, communism is the current political system in China, Cuba, Laos, North Korea and Vietnam.[iv]
I could also point out that humans have waged war, both literally and metaphorically, against everything from Atheism to Zionism by diverse means and with varying degrees of ferocity. We have fought ground wars, naval wars, air wars, hot wars, cold wars, limited wars, proxy wars, preemptive wars, and propaganda wars. And despite the lives lost and the money spent, war has neither brought us enduring peace nor has it eliminated any of the ideologies that we so rabidly oppose.
If I were to take the two bumper stickers lightly…
I could interject with humor that due to the unrelenting attacks by the Bush Junta since their coup d’etat in 2000 at which time they declared war against the US Constitution,[v] totalitarianism has emerged victorious in a number of battles against democracy and civil liberties. However, I’m thankful to say that neither political activism nor unionism has been completely wiped out in America, and is showing signs of regrouping for a counter attack under the banner of renewed calls for social and economic justice for all.
If I were to treat the two messages more seriously…
I could say that we have fought wars against poverty, drugs and illiteracy, yet all of these afflictions of humanity continue to plague us. Also, we seem to have failed in our campaigns for human rights and against racism, discrimination and social injustice despite the best efforts of such luminaries as Dr. Martin Luther King, Muhammad Yunus, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and the Dalai Lama. We are still battling slavery, fascism and totalitarianism in one form or another and in addition, we now have a new "ism" to wage war against and to soak up untold trillions of dollars, namely "Terrorism."
I could explain that colonialism has reemerged under War President Bush with the United States invasion and occupation of Iraq, whose citizens must endure American terrorism, inflicted in the name of Democracy, on a daily basis. Likewise due to the Israeli occupation, Palestinians must struggle with Israeli terrorism, financed by the US and executed in the name of security, with unceasing military attacks on Gaza and an ever-tightening security mesh in the Occupied West Bank.
I am compelled to express fully my outrage at the repugnancy of these messages…
Concerning the message “Give War a Chance,” the Twentieth Century was an era that gave war numerous chances to demonstrate its ability to solve conflicts. Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, referring to the destructive power of high explosives said, “The day that two army corps can annihilate one another in one second, the civilized nations will shrink from war and discharge their troops[vi].” That day arrived on 6 August 1945 when the US dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima and instead of discharging their troops, the nations rushed frantically to acquire nuclear weapons.
Contrary to the prediction of Alfred Nobel that high explosives would bring an end to wars, they continued throughout the Twentieth Century. The World War (WWI,) purported to be the war to end all wars,[vii] was surpassed in magnitude and horror by World War II, and then quickly followed by the Korean War and Vietnam. Over 7 million tons of high explosives were dropped on Vietnam alone.[viii] In the 21st century, the US is embroiled in wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and seems to be posturing for a war with Iran.
Concerning the message “War never solved anything except for ending Slavery, Fascism, Nazism and Communism,” it would appear at a minimum, that war does not solve conflicts but rather leads to additional wars and encourages the development of ever more expensive and destructive ways to wage war. High explosives have been eclipsed by nuclear weapons, whose destructive power is ironically measured in terms of Alfred Nobel’s invention, by kilotons and megatons of equivalent explosive force.
War is an obscenity inflicted upon humans by humans whose origins begin in conflict, whose rationalizations are motivated by power, profit and fear and whose aftermath lies in death and destruction. War is initiated from conflict through aggression, nurtured by xenophobia and fueled by greed. It is encouraged by nationalism, supported through patriotism and justified as defense. It is tolerated by indifference, condoned by apathy and perpetuated by inaction.
Can we find an alternative approach to international conflict resolution that would eliminate the use of war or the threat of military force? Surely, it would be based on the same lofty principles contained in the following excerpts from the United Nations Charter, Article 2:
“All Members shall settle their international disputes by peaceful means in such a manner that international peace and security, and justice, are not endangered.”
“All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state.”
I hope we can, but I doubt that any approach to international conflict resolution, which includes the above principles, can be established and maintained as long as the world’s sole Superpower continues to insist upon its right to the unilateral use of war.
Yuram Abdullah Weiler
2008-02-29
[i] Janet Gilmore, Modern Slavery Thriving in America, UC Berkley News, 23 September 2004, http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2004/09/23_16691.shtml (Accessed 4 August 2007)
[ii] Dr. Lawrence Britt, Fourteen Defining Characteristics of Fascism, Source Free Inquiry.co, 28 May 2003 http://www.rense.com/general37/char.htm (Accessed 4 August 2007)
[iii] Martin Varsavsky, Neonazism in Russia, 7 May 2007 http://english.martinvarsavsky.net/international/neonazism-in-russia.html (Accessed 4 August 2007)
[iv] Communism after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communism#Communism_after_the_collapse_of_the_Soviet_Union (Accessed 4 August 2007)
[v] Kate Randall and John Andrews, Ashcroft Defends Bush’s War Against the Constitution, World Socialist Website, 12 December 2001 http://www.wsws.org/articles/2001/dec2001/ashc-d12_prn.shtml (Accessed 29 February 2008)
[vi] Nobel Prize Website, Wars in the 20th Century and Nobel Peace Prize Statistics, Introduction http://nobelprize.org/educational_games/peace/conflictmap/readmore.html (Accessed 4 August 2007)
[vii] BBC, The War to End All Wars, 10 November 1998 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/special_report/1998/10/98/world_war_i/198172.stm (Accessed 4 August 2007)
[viii] Statistics on 20th Century Wars Involving the United States, Santa Cruz CA Public Libraries, Ready Reference Files http://www.santacruzpl.org/readyref/files/t-z/wars.shtml (Accessed 29 February 2008)
Lets give war a chance re the abolitioning terrorism, is worthwhile. a cancer goes into remission and then therapy has to be administered once more. Perhaps a heavy dose of therapy can be given to the terrorists, to eradicate this cancer, that knows no limits.
Jerry Ram | 03/03/2008, 17:06 [ Reply ]