History
How do you deal with someone who would rather see his own people gassed and bombed rather than relinquish power
With the world sliding closer to another world war, you have to wonder if history is repeating itself.
The US President Trump arrived as a man of the people, an outsider whose supporters thought might make a difference. Certainly during the election campaign, where foreign policy was concerned he struck a very isolationist view. However, now he is in office he is following the usual post-WW2 policy of American interventionism. Was this an about face or the realisation that America cannot turn away from the world? I suspect it was the latter.
What choice did he have? Russia is led by Putin. He has managed to create a veneer of democracy, but beneath the surface, he is no better than the Soviet leaders of old. He is trying to recreate the Empire, flouting international law, invading neighbouring countries, and sowing the seeds of dissent in the former Soviet states. There is also China, flexing her military muscles, much to the concern of her neighbours.
Since WW2, we have lived through a relatively peaceful era, and it is sobering to think that era may be coming to an end. We may consider ourselves civilised, more tolerant, less bellicose, but there will always be those who seek power and wealth and will not care about the human cost of achieving their goals. A prime example is Assad of Syria. How do you deal with someone who would rather see his own people gassed and bombed rather than relinquish power, rather than lose the wealth and influence he thinks is his right?
Words mean little to such people, and perhaps direct conflict is ultimately the only way to deal with despots and dictators.
Perhaps we just have to accept that the acquisition of power, and the resulting conflicts and even war that this spawns is, and will always be, part of the human condition.
Perhaps we will just have to accept that history will continue to repeat itself.
17th April 2018