War And Peace

“Only the dead have seen the end of war”.

As the world debates Obama’s decision on the Afghanistan War and anticipates the result of the troop surge there, I cannot help but acknowledge the veracity of these words.

The Iraq War has ended. The war in Afghanistan is very much on. One in Iran looms.

People dying virtually every day in Pakistan. Radical religious monomaniacs wrapping themselves in dynamite and blowing up innocent people. Maoist violence in India. Thousands vanquishing as a result. LTTE insurgency in SL that lasted decades, killing thousands. Genocides in Tibet. Israel-Palestine conflict. Iran-Iraq War. World War I, World War II. The list is endless. The casualties uncountable. The destruction unfathomable.

US may come back blaring the victory trumpet from Afghanistan but they’d forever remain leery of the Islamic nations. Who knows where the next threat could come up from? Iran for one surely hates the American guts. On the other hand Taliban could win the war but what can they possibly do that would make their people's lives better in the face of sanctions and isolation from the rest of the world. They'd then look for a new target to vent out their anger/frustration. Either way the war won't end.

If the Maoists’ secessionist tactics work and they get autonomy would they be able to prosper severed from mainland India? What would Pakistan gain by accquiring control of Kashmir when they can't do anything for the well-being of its people. No one is going to budge and only a few more million are going to die.

Obama posited in his Nobel Prize acceptance speech, "For make no mistake, Evil does exist in the world. A non-violent movement could not have halted Hitler's armies. Negotiations cannot convince al Qaeda's leaders to lay down their arms. To say that force may sometimes be necessary is not a call to cynicism -- it is a recognition of history; the imperfections of man and the limits of reason."

This is perhaps a Commander-In-Chief justifying his war with glib speech or perhaps this is an erudite man making a very profound statement. Take your pick. I think it is the latter.

What a conundrum we are in. War is necessary for the upkeep of Peace.

New generations living in fear. Children struggling in refugee camps when they should be in schools building their future. Fathers burying their young sons. Ailing kids. Mothers with nothing to feed them. Houses razed to the ground in the calm of the night. Nothing but mere rubble on the streets. Nothing but mere pain in the heart. We better get used to this.

Oh and btw, a Happy New Year to All !!