Peace processes

Part of the problem is the confusion between a mechanism and a cause. Why did the Japanese representative finally sit down and sign a peace treaty on the battleship Missouri, ending World War II? It was not because of negotiations but because of what had already happened at Iwo Jima, at Normandy and

"But so long as "world opinion" repeatedly intervenes to spare them the full consequences of their own aggression, that day can be postponed indefinitely."

And the American government has been putting out cash hand over fist for 54 years doing exactly this. You know those so-called refugee camps, where people live in their brick houses generation after generation rent-free? Well, those camps are under the auspices of the UN, which is paid for at least 25% by the US, while Arab countries pay 3% to keep Arab cannon fodder ready to be used rent-free.

Bush is already offering cash to rebuild the damage from Operation Defensive Shield. This is stupid.

Thomas Sowell is one of my favorites. I'm trying not to miss on his columns, and voted with my pocketbook by buying his books.

Nevertheless I'd like to say that the following quote represents only half of the real story:

What ended the Cold War with the Soviet Union? Was it all the "summit meetings" that took place for decades on end, while the Soviets sponsored wars of aggression around the world? Or was it Ronald Reagan's much-lamented "arms race" of the 1980s that put the Soviet economy under more strain than it could handle?

Another half is that the latest Soviet leaders, Mr. Gorbachev and Co, were unwilling to spill more blood anymore. Soviet Union of the late 80s despite of continues hypocrisy and idiocy of the whole system, stopped being in-your-face monstrosity of Stalin or quick-sand stagnation of Brezhnev. Mr. Gorbachev and Co attempted to make a "socialism with human face" silently admitting that it lacked one before. They made a conscious decision not to drown in blood Eastern-European block in the 80s like they did in the 1956 Hungary and 1968 Czechoslovakia. They had enough power to do it, and there is absolutely nothing anybody could do to oppose it if they decided so. Dissent in the Soviet Union existed but was too powerless to bring people to the barricades. Dissent in the Eastern-European block was stronger, but no match for tanks anyway. Soviet leaders could continue to tighten the bolts and be isolated from the West behind the iron curtain. The country could continue to deteriorate a-la Northern Korea, economy and people be damned! They did not do it. Whatever was their real intention, we should be grateful to Mr. Gorbachev and Co for the result.

You make some excellent points. However, just because the USSR broke apart without a devastating shooting war does not mean that it was not obviously defeated. The exposure of the average Russian to the world, Glasnost, and the deteriorating living conditions in the USSR made it increasingly difficult for the Communist Party to maintain the allegiance of the Russian people.

An army, after all, is not a single organism. Tanks do not drive themselves. At a certain point, there came a time when enough people in the USSR lost their faith in Communism, that the ability of the leadership to conduct a war was called into question. Even at the end, some of the leaders tried, and tanks surrounded the Kremlin. But cooler heads prevailed, and the most horrible social experiment of the 20th century ended.

And that wasn’t part of Gorbachev and Co’s plan.

Thank you for the kind words. USSR was truly Orwellian world. Regardless of people really believing or not into the Communist Party, most played the game, and went through the motions. Many did loose their faith in Communism, and did question the leadership abilities to do anything at all, BUT, the country would NOT revolt against the Communist Party IF it would use all available power and crash any dissent with lots of blood. The army would do what it was told, the same, crashing any interior dissent within army itself. The paradox is, that old and stinky Soviet Union could and would continue for a long-long time. It lost the Cold War and collapsed because the Gorbachev and Co were under illusion that it can be repaired. Of course, they did not plan for the collapse. But they were vampires who did not know that exposure to light is deadly for them. Even when they realized that, they still did not want to spill the blood of people. I praize their unwillingness to do so. Even if it was their "mistake", I'm still grateful.

Now, back to the Islamic world. Looks like they quite surpassing the USSR in brainwashing, judging by the reports, that most of them don't believe that 9-11 was theirs terrorists work, etc. Looks like most of them do not know what is going on in the outside world, but many who do know, remain undeterred (like the 19 highjackers who spent years leaving among us, some even with their families). This enemy looks more dangerous then Soviet Communists, who after all knew where the truth is.

”Now, back to the Islamic world. Looks like they quite surpassing the USSR in brainwashing, judging by the reports, that most of them don't believe that 9-11 was theirs terrorists work, etc. Looks like most of them do not know what is going on in the outside world, but many who do know, remain undeterred (like the 19 highjackers who spent years leaving among us, some even with their families). This enemy looks more dangerous then Soviet Communists, who after all knew where the truth is.”

In terms of pure hatred, I agree that the Muslims currently far surpass the Communists. (One of the reasons for the success of Communism is that it had many of the features of a fighting faith). I believe that of the major religious movements in the world, Islam is the only one that specifically calls for religious war against unbelievers. Christianity, on the other hand, calls on its followers to convert non-believers via missionaries.

What makes Islam less dangerous than the USSR is the lack of a high tech military with weapons of mass destruction. That is the challenge we face today, and why it is necessary to engage the enemy now. We cannot allow them the time to develop nuclear and biological weapons that, combined with the willingness to commit suicide while destroying the “infidel” would make the challenge posed by the USSR a “walk in the park.”

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