Unpopular War Necessitated By Volatile Cosmetic Peace [by: Steven Ilchev, 2001]

Unpopular War Necessitated By Volatile Cosmetic Peace
by: Steven Ilchev (Lichfield, Staffordshire)

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/2002/
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"George W. Bush – thou art a gangster and thou shalt plunge the Earth into an epic holocaust from which there will be no recovery for some time! Who in Heaven’s name are you, really?" These are more or less the words uttered by a symbolic, vocally enhanced statue that is pleading an anti-war case. Another statuette is calling for more time before salvoes are fired: "Let there be peaceful inspections in Baghdad and then we’ll see", the words engraved upon an icon of reluctance. An icon breathing from the heart of a stubborn piece of wood that has besmirched the name of unity. A united front on an issue of disarming a marauding incubus now rests in peace(s) and no one is happier than the incubus himself, Saddam. He has almost too perfectly managed to bisect the civilised world and rope it into a knot of barnyard bickering by doing what he does best… being himself. And as the fence of this volatile cosmetically peaceful atmosphere all but caved in to a resolute minority bunch an unpopular war erupted and political and military astuteness is about to follow.

Are George W. Bush, Tony Blair and other world leaders who have taken this drastic course of action today’s heroes? Are they to be commended for snubbing an indecisive UN body in times when most of the world, including the developed European Union nations such as Germany and France, is not endorsing the demise of a brutal empire that has stifled a land of incredible culture? The once upon a long ago Mesopotamia – nowadays a relic that people have come to know for quite a while as the Iraq in tatters! "Are Bush, Blair and the rest of those who told the UN exactly what to do in but so many words the personalities our world ought to look up to?" – a confused termite whispered in the dark as it examined a statue of an (not "the") unknown soldier. "Only time will tell", an answer ricocheted from the adolescent-looking soldier’s computerised heart. The response continued to bemuse the termite: "The jury’s still out on those other termite-candidates you spoke about, mate but desperate times call for desperate moves and it is a bold revolution, and not a time-consuming resolution that is called for now. All’s not fair in war and that’s a shame but you have to realise that when you create a peace façade while others ponder over you, this war’s popularity ceases to matter to those who seek to eradicate a looming threat. This blasted conflict, dear Sadie termite-brother is the only hope I cling to that the planet I love will not bleed for you and you alone! And for that cause I am prepared to fall in battle!"

The statuette of the adolescent soldier teleported itself to a theatre of military preparations as the scheming termite negotiated his way to a bunker of bittersweet safety. "This war that few want is going ahead", he thought aloud. "I need to play my Saddam role to the hilt. Those evil aggressors will make me the martyr I have never been but will now become to those who never even loved me. I have received sympathies from the ones who didn’t have it in them to back the aggressors. I am so good!"

The two players in this case – the termite and the soldier with a computerised but not unfeeling heart – are the puppets in this dramatic production called "Gulf War 2". Who is wrong and who is right? This question is eroding people’s lives and there’s no real winner in this unfortunate event. Who wins wars? Wars yield no winners and that is for sure but the environment and its carers would be the grand losers if pussyfooting around termites is one’s successfully-unsuccessful business in this, the Age of Terror. Megalomaniacs have no place among us and if that sounds insensitive and undemocratic perhaps this sobering colloquial phrase might cheer some up: "Tough schnapps!"

Have power-hungry political termites masquerading as their people’s leaders ever considered anyone’s democratic right of choice an important factor in the running of their gloomy microcosm of the world? What do the names Castro, Idi Amin, Augusto Pinochet, Josef Stalin, Adolph Hitler, and yes Saddam Hussein represent on an artistic piece of embroidery? Something resembling bloodstains milked from the souls of those "fine" individuals’ submissive lambs, one might insist. Should one be blamed for thinking along these lines? Zoom in on many a busted nation on a flattened map and then wonder no more.

George W. Bush, Tony Blair and their respective cabinets can hardly be viewed as awe-inspiring in their own right. Calling them revolutionary or visionary may just amount to political flattery. They are not the Franklin Delano Roosevelts and Sir Winston Churchills of the 21st Century and they have entered a game that does not have the across-the-board marketing appeal that would make it very popular indeed. Going to war is never a triumph but the decisiveness shown by the governments of the United Kingdom and the United States in toppling volatile cosmetic peace by going against the grain (and the grain being the UN) is nothing short of historically justified as well as pertinent to the reconstruction of a troubled region. Stability in the Middle East is essential if the international community’s war on terrorism is to succeed in the long term.
Some cynics may argue that the bottom line of this offensive against Iraq is just that – i.e. in finance lingo terms. That is not too far away from reality and the wealth of oil in the region is of great interest to the US. The volatility of stock markets and the stabilisation of a dwindling US economy and a weakening greenback are undoubtedly factors in this equation. Reaffirming the American imperialism may also be on Bush’s and his cabinet’s collective mind. All that might lead to the developing world reeling from heavy economic shocks and that would be advantageous to the US – a valid reason then for a vivid African icon to berate Bush’s policies in the Gulf?

Maybe at first glance, that great African statesman’s vociferous criticism of the American leader is quite valid but it is also laughably imperceptive. The lack of foresight on his part could lead to a potential dearth of much needed US investment on his continent. Can this esteemed but ageing figure really afford to flirt with a prospect of no American aid by aligning himself with Saddam through his anti-Bush rhetoric?

The world now holds its breath and there is a split international community that needs mending and humanitarian aid that needs to be distributed to innocent civilian casualties that are unavoidable in conflicts of this nature. History will in the end be the judge of this war which some choose to paint as a crime against humanity. With all their imperfections, the world’s Superpower and its allies in this desperate but inevitable theatrical performance are the ones exhibiting a sense of sanity in a hopelessly insane situation. Align oneself with them or with a despicable despot who may gas everyone out of existence before tomorrow comes? It is plain: one has to choose and live with the consequences. The good people of Iraq and the citizens of the world are riding on the outcome of this operation and negating its seriousness is tantamount to self-destruction.

"George W. Bush – thou art a gangster and thou shalt plunge the Earth into an epic holocaust from which there will be no recovery for some time! Who in Heaven’s name are you, really?" He is not perfect and should not be put on a pedestal but he has the capacity to dislodge the termite that has plagued mankind before it has spread uncontrollably. So, stand shoulder to shoulder with the American president and never misunderestimate the devil behind his enemy, our brittle world’s enemy. The one they call Saddam.

The drama associated with this rather unpopular war continues. The Oscars ceremony will probably echo further anti-war sentiments. The news bulletins know of nothing else on Earth. The stage is set and one might be tempted to give this play the heading "Of Mice and Men". The explosiveness of today’s situation and the lows to which humanity has sunk would support a deviation from that title to "Of Mice and Termites", some may suggest.

The Earth is at war and it is tragic but peace never really had a chance. It will be given the chance it so richly deserves when the weed is uprooted by the coalition forces. Until then the termites are at large and the sirens will go on as the curtain of night sets the scene for more air raids. It is Hell that had to come and needs to be handled with surgical precision. As for ordinary people… they need to keep up with the beat of normality before they are consumed by cold fear and uncertainty. The meaning of life has to shine on amidst this global pain if real peace is to be achieved.