“The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting”
– Sun Tzu, The Art of War
Humanity has always been in a state of conflict – be it one individual with another on matters involving personal belongings or one tribe with another, one commune with another or even one kingdom with another. However, there are probably no instances where any individual or any group headed straight into a fight, without having a discussion to solve the issues that were seemingly creating the conflict. In the contemporary world and in the context of modern nations we name this method – diplomacy. Diplomacy has played a crucial role since the time of early civilizations when tribes and kingdoms would send envoys and emissaries to another tribe or kingdom for passing messages and negotiating to arrive at an amicable solution. War has always been the last resort. After two world wars and the death of millions, let alone the destruction of a colossal amount of property, the world realized that war is a terrible menace and should be avoided at all costs. Despite this, no country ever showed any kind of restraint on aggressive war machine acquisition or military expansion. Resultantly we saw wars after wars even in recent times (post-WWII).
When we speak of war in modern times or the so-called modern warfare, the United States of America always crosses our minds. Be it the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Gulf war or the ‘War on terrorism’ in Afghanistan. The US has been involved in so many military activities around the world that it has become hard to imagine any military conflict without their influence or involvement. As of December 2021, the defence spending budget of the US stands at a whopping $778 billion according to a report by Defense One. Such kind of imposing stature gives the nation significant control over the foreign policies of enemies and allies alike. So much so that the United Nations and its child agencies have the US as their de facto ruler. There are a number of instances where the UN remained oblivious to the actions of the US around the world and joined in the tone of the narrative set by the US government.
The ongoing crisis of Ukraine imposed by Russia has been condemned worldwide by civilians and governments alike. There were an ample number of possibilities to avoid war and bloodshed but Mr Putin chose his way. As a response to the invasion of Ukraine, a great many countries around the world imposed sanctions on Russia, which is the first step to deter an invading party from continuing a war. Russia and its government is vilified all over the world for their actions and rightfully so. One cannot invade a country and somehow become the hero of the whole story. But the US meticulously managed to do exactly that.
The US entered the Vietnam war and made themselves the hero and convinced the soldiers that they were dying for their country. Although it faced some backlash in its homeland, it died down soon after. In 2001 al-Qaeda launched, what would probably be the deadliest attack on US soil, killing thousands and destroying other things tangible and intangible, including the sense of security in the minds of Americans. As a response, the US launched a massive war on terrorism. However, even after it became very clear that Osama bin Laden was in hiding either in Pakistan or Afghanistan, the war was shifted to Iraq and the gulf region. Airstrikes and military action in the name of restoring democracy and the seeming peace-keeping activities only killed thousands of civilians. Then they came to Afghanistan and joined the warlords in fighting off the Taliban backed by al-Qaeda. Let’s not forget here that the Taliban came into existence as a force against the Russians formed in the 80s by unofficial support of the US. ISIS and its militia is also a product of American warmongering.
If we move on from the US to other nations indulging in human rights violations and invasive measures powered by intrinsic interests, we shall also find Israel. Palestinians are battered and tortured on a regular basis not to mention the bombings and strikes in the bordering areas of the Gaza strip. Palestinians travelling from the west bank to the capital have to face numerous atrocities at the hands of Israeli security forces. And then we see Gal Gadot, an internationally acclaimed actor and former member of an Israeli security force, working on a song to get over these tough times of a pandemic and a possible WWIII.
Any and every action, of the US and allied nations including the UN, condemning Russia’s action against Ukraine is futile and hypocritical if the Ukrainians are not actually helped. War has been and will always be an act of great malice. So why condemn and vilify only one nation while other nations are waging wars and proxy wars garbed in the shroud of peacekeeping and restoring democracy backed by their own interests, more often than not glorified by multi-million dollar movies. Vilifying Russia for the recent aggression is more a product of the narrative set by the US government and Hollywood movies rather than a generic human reaction. Had it been the real cause for vilifying a warmongering nation, the US would have been at the topmost position on such lists of nations working war machines against others.
Image Courtesy
Featured Image: “Bombing Syria – Not in my name – Let’s work for world peace.” by alisdare1 is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
Image 2: “Don’t bomb Syria !” by alisdare1 is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
Image 3: “Stop the killing. Stand up for Gaza.” by alisdare1 is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
