Sunday, July 16, 2006
WW3 or WW4?
There's some discussion today about whether the current war should be 3 or 4. I've been calling it 4, following (I think) Jed Babbin. Describing things accurately is important --- not as important as doing the right thing, but an apt description can help to shape your thinking toward doing the right thing!
One good reason to call it 4 is the sequence of linkages; starting with WW1, each war set up the conditions for the next.
WW1 belongs at the start of this sequence, because it was not caused by any one thing; even the scholars can't really agree on what it was about, except for a general air of 'frogginess' in Europe.
The Armistice of 1919, along with Wilson's economic privations aimed at Germany, set up the conditions for WW2.
After Germany was defeated again, the Potsdam and Yalta agreements, transferring the most ruined parts of Europe from Hitler's tyranny to Stalin's tyranny, set up the conditions for WW3.
To bring down the Soviets in WW3, Reagan used a combination of economic and military pressure which relied on the Saudis and various Mohammedan groups in Afghanistan.
After Russia was defeated, those Arab and Mohammedan alliances set up the conditions for WW4.
If we describe the current one as WW3, we will 'short-circuit' both the heroic strategies of Reagan and Thatcher and the unavoidable consequences of the tactics used to implement those strategies. ¶ 10:09 PM
One good reason to call it 4 is the sequence of linkages; starting with WW1, each war set up the conditions for the next.
WW1 belongs at the start of this sequence, because it was not caused by any one thing; even the scholars can't really agree on what it was about, except for a general air of 'frogginess' in Europe.
The Armistice of 1919, along with Wilson's economic privations aimed at Germany, set up the conditions for WW2.
After Germany was defeated again, the Potsdam and Yalta agreements, transferring the most ruined parts of Europe from Hitler's tyranny to Stalin's tyranny, set up the conditions for WW3.
To bring down the Soviets in WW3, Reagan used a combination of economic and military pressure which relied on the Saudis and various Mohammedan groups in Afghanistan.
After Russia was defeated, those Arab and Mohammedan alliances set up the conditions for WW4.
If we describe the current one as WW3, we will 'short-circuit' both the heroic strategies of Reagan and Thatcher and the unavoidable consequences of the tactics used to implement those strategies. ¶ 10:09 PM
