Ever been to Spain?
It was the first trip my wife and I did together, just after she moved in with me, and for her thirtieth birthday. So, that was some time ago. We went to Barcelona for a few days and spent the time walking around and planning our future. It is a beautiful city where I could have tripped and accidentally clicked the shutter button on my camera and it would have been a decent image.
This is one of my favourites from the trip.
It is from the gothic quarter at the heart of Barcelona.
I was reading how Trump recently called it a "terrible" nation, because they have chosen not to let the US use its bases as a launch pad for its war in Iran, and as par for the course, has ordered the Treasury secretary to cut off all dealings with Spain. Spain's reasoning for not having the US use its bases for that (joint operated bases mind you) is that it will not agree to anything that is not in accordance with the UN charters - meaning that the actions of the US and Israel are deemed illegal by international law.
It is interesting, because in the past countries that stood up for the right thing would have been celebrated, and while "right" can be argued, breaking international law would be considered the wrong thing. in 2003 the invasion of Iraq was the wrong thing by international law also, as the US couldn't get enough support to back it, even bribing small nations to support them at the UN. They did it anyway and well, how has that turned out, considering Iran is Iraq's largest trading partner?
Despite strong opposition from the people, Spain was a strong supporter of the "Coalition of the willing" that invaded and occupied Iraq. The government changed a year later, and their troops were withdrawn.
Since, they have taken a stronger "anti-war" approach to policy, because the people of Spain are unsupportive of military action and I suspect unless forced into conflict, will remain so. They aren't looking for a fight, let alone one that is deemed illegal by international law. And on the "illegal" term, I use it instead of "breached" as they are consistently using in the media, to soften the impact and divert the attention of people away from the reality.
I find it distasteful.
I wonder though, are there any countries where the majority of people prefer a "pro-war" approach to policy? It seems somewhat contrary to the wellbeing of people within that country and would probably also tell something about what kind of culture it is. I also wonder how many wars there would be if the governments listened to the people's opinions and made policy based on that. It is not that the "people's opinion" is always correct or should be followed, but when it comes to willingness to go to war, something that can heavily affect the lives of citizens, shouldn't it count for something?
Is the average American pro-war?
From those I speak to frequently enough, I would assume no. But at the same time, there seems to be a lower bar for going to war. What in other countries would be a momentous decision, seems to require very little to accept in America. I wonder what would it would take to get Germany or France, Canada or Japan to attack another country first.
In Australia, there was a massive public pushback against the plans to follow the US into the Iraq war and it was going to affect the outcome of the elections. I said to my brother, I wonder where the bomb will go off, and a couple days later the Bali bombings happened and 88 Australians (among over 200) were killed. Then Australia followed the US.
Public opinion is easy to swing.
After several similar events, I don't really believe in coincidences like this. However, even if there is no conspiratorial nefariousness at play behind the scenes, the fact is that the mar conflict there is, the more conflict there will be. No war has ever ended conflict and instead, has just pushed it into other realms of society. The long peace was still home to the cold war, and the conflicts now are a ricochet from that period.
It seems that we are destined to continually err on the side of conflict, because we keep using more conflict as the cure. All it does is create matrices of bouncing consequences, most of which are unintended. Some however are intentional, moves made to create more conflict in order to gain more control, power, or money at the expense of the wellbeing and security of everyone. The war machine is a wealth creator, but it doesn't generate wealth for the majority. But stand in the way of those it does create wealth for, and they will find countless methods to draw others in, to create a conflict large enough that it forces the hands of even the anti-war nations.
The US no longer has allies, it has means to an end.
Pawns in a game of violence for profit.
Taraz
[ Gen1: Hive ]
Be part of the Hive discussion.
And you may be rewarded.
