For me it's very hard to understand war. And I think I'm not alone to feel this way.
Yes of course there are reasons, or at least so we hear everyday. This is what media, society, well everyone tells us. Reasons like politics, economy, oil, terrorism, fatigue.. the list could probably go on forever. I can kind of grasp this. Conditions that in the long run makes it unbearable for a human being to live their life and this somehow results in a revolt - whether it is a smaller demonstration outside work or a world war between several major nations..
What I do not manage to grasp is how we actually get to the stage where the reasons for war stretches so far that it takes the life of other human beings, just like me and you. I can not understand how a world inhabitated and ruled by ordinary people - because I do believe that everyone is worth the same, whether we are born in Sweden, the UK, Afghanistan, Pakistan etc. - can end up in major devastation, similar wiht something I'd expect hell to be..
Maybe I've been protected well from thoughts about war and devastation and human beings suffering around the world. Being born into a neutral nation such as Sweden might limit my ways of understanding why people can't agree and find friendly solutions instead of being forced to bring up their children, their future, in a gun populated country..
I don't know. I guess it's really hard to understand anything that you haven't been through yourself, and even harder when it has such a clearly negative effect on humans such as myself.. So when hearing the other day that it is expected that we will send another 500 troops to Afghanistan, I can't help but think what difference will it actually make?
What do you think? Can we grasp and understand what is actually going on in a war zone, and will 500 troops more or less solve or help solving the massive war that haunts both the Afghan population and all the families and friends to the soldiers being sent over there?
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500 troops will certainly not solve any problems, it may show involvement of english army, caring and hope for a change that is unfortunately unlikely to happen with this sort of solution. As that seems to be a reaction for having no other solution... perhaps it is just a part of hounorable code that English decided to take upon themselves, but doesn't it look like a strange and unreasonable decision to make? It makes me think what are the hidden purpuses of such actions and is there really a justifiable higher reason for humenbeings to be sent for a potential death. I am trully sorry for those whose children or parents lives were lost in a war and I am sure that there is always not enough justification for death of any soldier. The sad fact is, that we will never find out what was the real reason that those soldiers believed to be dying for? Did they choose to sucrifice themselves for whatever purpuse they believed to be right? Or did they just die because of not being able to change the system and not being able to resist decisions of those believed to have power over them. And perhaps those, in power, who may not always have honorable intentions or make right decisions... We will never find out.
intressting! love you
Du är så duktig ulla! Saknar dig såå mycket. Pusssssssis!
The best way to understand the Afghan war is to read Robert Fiske's book teh great war for civilization. He's an excellent news reporter who has interviewed everyone in any position of power in the various middle east and afghan conflicts. Then he puts it in a context of how all these conflicts are (in a very hegelian way!) naturally consequences of conflicts and deep seated patterns of injustice which were set up by the 19th century empires - the English and French mainly. The roots of the conflict are very complex but - for example - the type of Wahabbi Islam which the taleban subscribe to was created in British India as a reaction to the imposition of the Anglo-Indian legal code, etc, etc. Essentially decolonialisation by the British in these parts of the world was a disaster and left all kinds of unstable states and awful puppet ruler (eg the wildly hated Hashemite Clan of Jordan and - a little latert - Saddam Hussein) in cbharge of these parts of the world so that domination could continue.
Another excellent writer on these sorts of themes is Ryzard Kapuscinski (from Poland/Belarus) on the whole disaster of 'Africanisation' of the former colonies, where the old coloial structures (eg in Nigeria) were left in place when the British left and just local crooks and opportunists took over and ruled over the Nigerians in a way that was at least as exploitative as the British. It is hopefully differnt in South Africa where to some extent the liberation was achievd internally and people like the ANC leaders came up from the people; and did not just move into the old colonial governors house.
Another thing about the British empre was that it was highly adept at 'divide and rule' and would often back one ethnic group against another (eg the Muslims against the Hindus in India) and that set up generations of hatred - one side massacring the other; then the other retaliating on a bigger scale - 'the dialectic of violence'. etc.
But Fiske's Book I would recommend. I gave a copy to an Iranian friend and he said "It explains everything".
FISKE
Interview with Fiske on the web. Can you listen and blog if it is good or not.
Thanks Chris for the book tip, will definitely get a copy! An update will appear here (hopefulle tonight) when I have watched the youtube link you added.
And thanks for your comments Veronica. In one way I can understand the British government but it feels like they're 'throwing in' troops whenever and how many they can just as a symbol to underline the fact that they want to do something about the war situation and that they are ready to take action - where they flaw, I think, is the fact that it is only 500. If they now want to move in more troops, then do something massive about it, or nothing at all..
But like you say, we will never find out, and I am just as sure the soldier and the government never will manage to find out who wins the war- if there can be such a thing as a 'winner' when it comes to human lives being lost..
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