War is insanity and brings about pain, death and misery. Peace equals life, prosperity and happiness. What do you choose?
War is hell. It is a blind exercise in mayhem, death and misery for generations to come. Wars and violence seems to be baked into our DNA and have been with humanity from the very beginning, most wars fought over religion and beliefs, real or perceived wrongs, tribal disputes, domination, land, resources and/or profit.
The Middle East (as most regions of the world at one time or another) has been in conflict for centuries (a combination of tribal, religious, ethnic, geographic, imperialist and countries issues and gripes) with wars and cycles of violence dominating the landscape, peppered with periods of “peaceful” grace.
At present, rockets are being launched from Gaza by Hamas to Israeli civilian targets, terrorizing the population in their homes and businesses, and an Israeli offensive, via air and artillery, is ongoing to try and stop the rockets and degrade the military capabilities of Hamas (Israel is mounting forces on the border and might launch a ground offensive if a cease fire is not established. That is a dangerous option for everyone and hopefully will not be deemed required to end the rocket attacks.)
Thanks to an Israeli “Iron Shield” rocket defense system, there were no Israeli casualties till today (one Israeli killed today July 15th) in spite of a barrage of Hamas (Iran made) rockets. However, since Hamas keeps rocket launchers and facilities in the middle of and surrounded by civilian population, there are around 170 Palestinian casualties reported as a result of Israel targeting those rocket and facilities. (Important to note that Israel is targeting the rockets and not the civilians and dropped leaflets warning of coming attacks, allowing time to evacuate, with Hamas telling civilians to stay put. For clarity, Hamas provides no warnings to Israelis before firing rockets directed specifically at civilians.)
This current round of deadly violence was sparked by the kidnaping and murder of 3 Israeli teens (Eyal Yifrach, 19, Gilad Shaar, 16, and Naftali Frenkel, 16) while on their way home Thursday June 12th from “Yeshiva” (Jewish seminary) in Gush Etzion, south of Jerusalem (I have a 17 year old son and can’t begin to imagine the horror of loosing him that way).
Although there was no immediate claim of responsibility (Hamas seems behind this crime), A senior Islamic Jihad official called, Friday June 13th, on Palestinians to kidnap Israeli citizens for use as bargaining chips to negotiate the release of Palestinian prisoners for Israeli citizen’s lives. Although Palestinian authority President condemned the kidnapping and the Israeli rescue response, his administration did not act to help locate the kidnapped teens. The 3 teens were found Monday June 30th shot to death in the West Bank, just north of Hebron, in a shallow grave in a field in the Palestinian village of Halhul. On July 2nd, the charred body of Muhammad Hussein Abu Khdeir, 17, a Palestinian teen, was found in a forest.
Israeli authorities launched an investigation and arrested and charged 3 Israelis, Monday July 14th, with the kidnapping and killing of the Palestinian teen and are investigating the involvement of 3 additional alleged Israeli participants. Police says the murder was motivated by revenge after the kidnapping and murder of the 3 Israeli teens. On July 8th a delegation of 350 Jewish Israelis made a condolence trip to east side of Jerusalem to the family of the killed Palestinian youth. No such visit was made to the families of the 3 Israelis killed by Palestinians. Instead there was joy by Hamas and even one mother of the Palestinian killer at the killing of the Israeli teens and no action to punish the guilty. Progress will ony come when Palestinians start punishing their own for crimes against Israelis the way Israel does.
Wars have been with us forever, and through the centuries we learned some lessons, and as insane as it is, established “Rules of war.”
The Geneva Convention agreements of 1949, negotiated in the aftermath of the Second World War (1939-1945), which updated the terms of the first 3 treaties (1864, 1906, 1929), established rights of wartime prisoners (military and civilians) and protections for civilians in and around war zones (other related conventions are: Hague Conventions dealing with use of weapons of war (1899 & 1907), and Geneva Protocol dealing with bio-chemical warfare (1925).
It is an established rule that certain groups enjoy immunity and protections in wartime. Those mainly include civilians, women and children. However, there are exceptions. A school can become a military target if soldiers are based there and civilian deaths are allowed if they happen as a result of military targets being hit, for the purpose of bringing a military advantage.
Although there is logic to these conventions and “Rules of War,” they flow from the false assumption that war itself is a valid tool to resolve disputes. These conventions also assume that all parties in the conflict will observe these rules and principals, limit war to the military and not use civilians as human shields, targets or bargaining chips (if that were true, these rules would minimize some of the damage and horror caused by war). If one analyses any war, you will always find claims of legitimacy from both sides for their actions, although not all will be valid and rooted in facts and objective reality. War, like most human activities, is mainly a subjective endeavor.
I would argue that stopping genocide is one clear example of a valid reason to go to war and even sacrifice your life. Obviously I would urge exhausting other measures first, like diplomacy and world community sanctions and pressure, but with genocide time is scarce luxury and immediate decisive action is required. Another good case for war is self defense. Where survival is being threatened, strong and often violent counter action is required and appropriate to save lives.
In the 1979 film Apocalypse Now Colonel Walter E. Kurtz (Marlon Brando), is the renegade Colonel who went insane and set himself up as a god among a local tribe in Cambodia Captain Willard (Martin Sheen) is sent to assassinate. In a pivotal speech, Kurtz describes his war actions/crimes as follows:
I’ve seen horrors, horrors that you’ve seen. But you have no right to call me a murderer. You have a right to kill me. You have a right to do that, but you have no right to judge me. It’s impossible for words to describe what is necessary to those who do not know what horror means. Horror! Horror has a face, and you must make a friend of horror. Horror and moral terror are your friends. If they are not, then they are enemies to be feared. They are truly enemies.
If we learned anything from history, it’s that most wars we engage in are simply an exercise in mayhem and misery and do not resolve anything (only profit goes to weapons manufactures before, during and after, healthcare industry and those participating in the rebuilding effort after.) Just think what we could accomplish if we put all those resources to appropriate use? Just think what all that talent that is killed in wars and their lost offspring can accomplish? We could eradicate hunger and disease, solve our energy and climate change issues and provide assistance to those individuals, countries and regions who need a hand to achieve prosperity, with plenty to spare to explore the universe with all its wonders, to name but a few options.
Whether we admit it or not or like it or not, most humans on this small green/blue planet want exactly the same thing (I am carving out of this inclusive human category the small deranged and insane group, existing in every country, that is or should be institutionalized anyway), and that is to live in peace, fall in love, raise a family and grow old surrounded by grandchildren and/or family and friends. We all want a safe, healthy, comfortable life where we can pursue our passions, make a good living and enjoy the pleasures of being alive.
War destroys any hope of that while giving the “victor” a false sense of security and vindication, while at the same time, leaving the “looser” to fester in rage and a false sense of victimization and indignant entitlement for revenge. And that simply creates an endless cycle of mayhem (as of today July 15, 2014, Hamas turned down an Egyptian cease fire proposal and launched rockets that killed 1 Israeli).
Humanity is better than that and its time we put more effort into getting to a place of peaceful existence. One of many examples of success is Europe (after centuries of wars, a union and joint economic market) with Germany, where two world wars originated, is a meaningful, peaceful economic and political power.
We must do better and reach for the stars, cause if we don’t, we are nothing and we doom ourselves to this endless cycle of pain, death and misery!
Featured Photo: Jayel Aheram /Flicker
Photo1: Partnership2Gether Photo2: Reuters Photo3: Evan Bryant /csmonitor Photo4: Jose Vicente Salamero /Flicker
For more articles by Tsach Gilboa click on his name. Several related articles:
Syria: We Need Strong Multi-National Action to Stop the Killing
Noblesse Oblige = Being an Exceptional Human
Tomorrow’s Headline: Dude Found Unconscious and Bloody in Elevator
Mother Nature and Human Nuclear Arrogance
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