Lessons Learned - Or Not

Lessons Learned - Or Not

In 1938 Neville Chamberlain sat down with Hitler to map out a way to convince the British people to accept the German agenda in a non aggression pact. One shudders to think what might have happened had the deal been consummated. Well the Russians learned that first hand with their non aggression pact with Germany didn't they? And the end game of asylum for the Nazis in Argentina in exchange for precious artworks stolen from captured towns which came to pass.

It seems to me our government and indeed ALL governments should go back in history a little bit to re-learn the lessons of the past and act accordingly. It would certainly help to clarify the debate about the middle east as well as the Ukraine. Do we need boots on the ground in these places? You darn right we do, and lots of them. The enemy, in order to be defeated needs to be overwhelmed by a force to storm its very foundation, house to house and door to door if necessary. There will always be time for diplomacy later, once an unconditional surrender is signed, sealed and delivered.

This whole international conflict business has taken on a false civility that benefits no one but the arms dealers and the businesses in the conflict zones. During WWII some 2 billion people served in the armed forces (on both sides) There were some 1.1 million Canadians in the fray. Between 38 and 55 million civilians died and 22 - 25 million military lost their lives. What I'm saying here is that war is a deadly business and you're either in it or you're not. And if you want to win the war, you'd better get all your boots on the ground and quickly.

Of course, the Americans are following FDR's formula of not entering the war as such, but supplying all the armaments for it. That's how they became such a wealthy nation. Now they are acting as the world's policeman (as well). They're convinced that they can orchestrate the outcomes of their actions by way of drones and remote warfare methods. Let somebody else do the dirty work. Well, it ain't gonna happen. The U.S. should remember that from Pearl Harbor. It's always the infantry that mops up the mess left by everybody else and that ain't changed none. They'll want somebody like the Australian Diggers to do that work.

War is a bloody brutal, dirty, dehumanizing business to be involved in, and if you're going to get into it, you'd better be prepared to put all your resources into it in the first place, or else stay home and mind your own business. At least that's how it seems to me from up here on the top shelf.

Just sayin'.