War and Violence

In 12th century England, William Marshall, as a little boy, was given by his father to King Stephen as a hostage for his good behaviour! The King rather liked the little boy and eventually returned him safely to his family - instead of hanging him from the battlements in reprisal. How brutal and uncivilised people were in those days - prepared to execute a little boy if it became necessary! Chivalry was tempered by an acceptance of violence.

There was even a time (the peace of God) in the 11th century when the Christian Church was close to banning the use of violence on a Saturday or Sunday, and even the carrying of weapons at all. How far we have regressed since those times!

I apologise to all those who undertook war in past centuries if I once thought them brutal and uncivilised. We are worse! Today I am very unclear what rules apply! Indeed what rules apply to anyone contemplating the use of force. I took it for granted that in war, the Geneva Convention applied. I am surprised to find that in certain circumstances the Geneva Convention could be overruled by the say-so of top politicians. I was 12 years old when the Nuremberg trials set a new standard for the punishment of international genocide and crime. In 60 years since, we have forgotten already what Nuremberg meant and it looks as if those making decisions today however bad will get away scot free!

We seem to have lawyers arguing as public affair Representatives that even torture is acceptable in certain circumstances and that perpetual imprisonment without trial is possible if we dislike those enough, who fight for an alien idea. Evidence these days is merely constructed to obtain the desired short-term solution. Being economical with the truth is thought to be the right way to win and how they must roar with laughter in the privacy of their conference rooms at the naivety of the rest of us.

Isolated and badly educated politicians are making 'personal decisions' without regard to what expert advisers and consultants might be saying. If nothing else, it suggests that government is not any more based on democracy - that need to pay heed to what an electorate might think. For a long time, I was impressed by the idea of a rule-of-law that even nations had to obey. Now I am not so sure what is happening! International affairs have nothing to do with democracy at a time when the world has become a village.

Perhaps it is a time of transition. The last two thousand years supported many different religions and philosophical ideas because because they were separated by huge distances and we scarcely knew what other alien peoples thought or why. Sadly the 'death of distance' brings us face-to-face with each other in a way that was impossible over the last two thousand years. Sunnis and Shias now kill each other only because they have just realised they both exist.
Now the moment of truth is that we have to learn to live with each other, and our politicians are not helping much at a time when many of us are sympathetic to the strange and alien peoples we meet all the time! Where are we going?



Iraq is a catastrophe, the consequences of which may be with us for the next century. I am not so much against the pragmatic objective of solving global problems, but against the incompetence, ignorance and inefficiency of those that try. Much needs to be done to make the world a better place but there is hardly any point in trying if hundreds of thousands have to die. What is going to happen in Iraq is that eventually the armies and politicians will slyly announce "victory" and go home with their tails between their legs.

Official Information

I have been following the Iraq situation now for 15 years! I was actually in Riyadh during the Gulf War. The British military attache told us that we were too far away in Riyadh from Iraq to be threatened by missiles, but a scud missile from the Iraqi desert was then launched shortly after - and then almost every evening thereafter just after sunset: the launchers came out of their holes after dark. These official briefing meetings in Embassies either demonstrated the ignorance of government officials or alternatively that they knew the truth but wouldn't tell the truth in order not to alarm anyone. But that seems silly when a missile was launched anyway. Eventually a scud landed quite close to me, and for the first time I thought perhaps I ought to defend myself!

Saddam Hussein was badly advised! I would have fired 30 Scuds at Riyadh on the first night, and the whole of Riyadh would have decamped to Jeddah that very night! Luckily our leaders do not understand.

Seeing Saddam Hussein go to his death left me in two minds. Admiration that he went to his death with some dignity: A rueful acknowledgement that if someone fires a missile at me, I would reluctantly retaliate. My reaction is a measure of how uncivilised I am.

My objection today in 2007 four years after the second invasion of Iraq is that British and American politicians are mouthing excuses for their gigantic incompetence, ignorance and lack of imagination. If we are to undertake some great task, we owe it to all people to do it well. Worse, it looks to me that the people who are making these awful decisions on our behalf are not properly educated or trained in the realities of global power, nor have any real sympathy with the displaced Arab peoples, who indeed do need our help - but not this sort of help. Why is it we can spend $10 billion on war at the drop of a hat, and yet money is not available for development? If we really wish to apologise to Africa for the slave trade, then the money spent on war should be diverted to a better cause.

Beggar the thought that I could contribute to any solution to the problems of the Middle East. But sometimes I do wonder whether after 12 years in Saudi Arabia and a total of 17 years in Moslem countries, I might not have some glimmer of understanding on how to find a solution. Our existing politicians surely could not have made it worse, and yet the world is full of people these days who know the world well and sympathise in a way that our politicians do not.

So what I think is happening is that there is a disconnect between our politicians who stay at home and an international diaspora, growing ever larger and influential, who so far serve no useful function in international politics. My only consolation is that Tony Blair knows what he has done, and it shows in every new wrinkle on his face!

Iraq

This is my second blog and I had great difficulty in logging in, and have now changed my password. Not sure what I did wrong, but suddenly the system worked without, I fear, my doing anything!

The news this morning is about the British withdrawing from Iraq - by the end of 2007. It seems a bit premature to announce an event 10 months in the future. I recently spent 17 years in Moslem countries which of course means I am forever banned from contributing to any political debate or solution to the problem, as the British and American governments have experts who know all the answers! I jest!
There is a very considerable nasty taste in the mouth to the average observer trying to absorb the explanations from our politicians on what they are doingin Iraq. Talk about 'headless chickens' running around! My main concern is not that nations should not defend their interests but that they should get it right. The weasel words coming out now would do Machiavelli proud. The British are not 'cutting and running' of course, but one cannot help noticing there is an election in the UK in May. I see the Australians have been invited to put in 20,000 new troops into Iraq in support of their American allies, but in spite of saying 'in no circumstances should anybody interpret the British move as any kind of cut and run', they won't do much more to help. The Americans are in a very difficult position as with fading support from their Anglo-Saxon cousins in Britain and Australia - mainly political - there is no certainty that things in Iraq will not get worse. All that can be done then is declare a victory (as the last American helicopter leaves the Embassy roof) and go home. Unfortunately the history books are not going to be very kind.

I wonder sometimes why governments are so incapable these days! My suspicion is that the world is full of capable people with high levels of education and with years of personal experience overseas who would know what to do in many cases - from Islam to nuclear energy. These people have become disconnected from the system and cannot help. Unfortunately governments with national sovereignty are staffed by politicians who hardly ever live overseas for any length of time. Such people have no experience of a globalised world and one suspects from the expression on their faces (in Saudi Arabia, South Korea or Venezuela) that they often feel quite lost. Would they cut and run from such situations - who would ever dare to say so!