« Beating Retreat | Main | Why do the US election results evoke such passion on the Left? »
November 11, 2004
Armistice day and remembrance
Today is Armistice Day, the day set aside in 1920 for the remembrance of those millions who fell on the battlefields of France, Belgium, Gallipoli, Africa, and the Far East during the "Great" War of 1914 - 18. But, as we know, this war "to end all wars" has not been the last. Even in the so-called "Inter War" years there were local "wars" in the Middle East, in the Far East and in Africa - without even mentioning the Spanish Civil War and the war in Russia against Bolshevism - which the "Great Powers" lost!
Today is no different; since the Second "Great War" we have had ongoing conflict in China, Korea, Vietnam, Africa, the Middle East, the Indian Sub-continent, the South East Asian Island chains, and the Falkland Islands. Even as I write, men, women and children are dying in the conflict in Iraq, Afghanistan has a new civil war, and Iran is seething with discontent. British forces have been sacrificed in the name of "peace" in West Africa, Iraq, Kuwait, Afghanistan, and elsewhere. However, the Iraqi conflict must surely open new chapters in the long chain of human brutality and tragedy.
Not since the 18th Century have we been confronted by an enemy as brutal or as fanatical in their dealing with "enemies". As I write this, the "Defenders of Islam", as the insurgent psychopaths in Fallujah style themselves, are fighting to the last drop of their blood - for the political power their Mullahs seek. Elsewhere in Iraq and in the Palestinian/Israeli conflict we have suicide bombers taken from school to blow themselves up in the name of God. The evil men who organise this pay their families huge amounts (in their terms) for their "martyrdom". The question is, who is the martyr and who the victim, here?
Then there is that special group - the ones who kidnap those trying to help the Iraqi people and murder them in the most brutal and sickening way, again in the name of their God - who seem to enjoy the willing protection of the wider public in Iraq. Now I may be doing the Iraqi people a large injustice when I say this, but it is apparent that they know who these people are, and where they are. They also know who is supporting them and how - so why do they continue to allow this barbarity to continue in their name? It is easy to accuse the US and the UK of "invasion" and of all sorts of devious and unscrupulous motives for this war, but to do so is to ignore the fact that there is a growing realisation that we are dealing with a society and a mindset which is totally alien and so far beyond what is considered to be civilised behaviour that there is almost a case for total suppression. But that would not achieve anything either - indeed, it would lower us to the same level.
The pursuit of peace is the object of every civilised man and woman. Sometimes the price of peace is very high indeed, and sometimes it is necessary to go to war to remove evil from power and attempt to restore balance. The truth is that the 20th Century was, perhaps more than any other in our long and bloody history, a century of unending war. The current conflicts are part of that legacy. We could simply ignore them and let evil triumph - or we can continue to resist it and bring to a conclusion the unfinished business that we set off in 1914.
As we remember the fallen today, let us also pray for the restoration of peace and the defeat of all those who wage war in secret, from behind masks and through the murder of women, children, and those whose only motive is to help bring peace and plenty. Let us pray, too, for the successful completion of the operation to clear out the murderous scum who bring such evil and destruction upon the world and the people of Iraq.
But above all, let us remember those who have given or lost their lives in all conflicts, and those who mourn their loss. Let us pray for the men and women engaged in this conflict, that they may be restored to their families and friends when peace is finally restored.
Let us not make light of the sacrifices made over the last 100 or so years for our peace, for our freedom, and for the plenty we enjoy today. Let us instead do our utmost to extend that to everyone.
Posted by The Gray Monk at November 11, 2004 11:00 AM
Comments
Let us remember that 'Their God' is your God, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God Jacob; The 'Sickening' method their terrorists use to kill hostages is similar to the peaceful method they use to Halal slaughter farm animals, 'they' regard hanging as sickening.
Perhaps the hooked handed one should be hanged on parliament green as a statement of our defiance, or, more pertinently, perhaps the U. S. marine Corps should try to understand that Hearts and Minds are of more value than blood and gristle; of whatever belief.
Posted by: torrrential at November 17, 2004 11:48 PM