LAST week’s events highlighted two different approaches to the future. The first is backward-looking and rooted in the delusion that the US and Europe still lead the world and can control nations and regions through military power to effect desired political outcomes.
Biden’s disastrous trip to Israel, where no Arab leaders would meet with him, was an example. Another was the US being the lone “no” vote of 15 nations for a recent UN Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire in the Israel-Palestine conflict. After a string of failures from Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Nicaragua, Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Libya and now Ukraine, you would think the US would recognise the futility of this approach.
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The second approach is forward-looking and was demonstrated by China’s hosting of the 10th anniversary of its Belt and Road initiative, involving 150 nations in a 21st-century multidimensional infrastructure project to connect the world through sustainable energy, transport and digital systems. The initiative recognises that the world needs more connectivity, not more conflict. The only European nation attending was Hungary.
The world’s geopolitical tectonic plates are shifting. The BRICS nations, which include Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, UAE, Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Egypt and Argentina, make up 36% of global output compared to 30% for the G7 nations.
It’s time for European nations to wake up and realise that blindly following the US has done them no favours. They share Eurasia with China and should be partners, not combatants. This would lead to a stronger and more secure Europe.
As for the disunited kingdom, it needs to stop acting like it’s still a great power, which is distracting it from addressing its enormous internal problems, including keeping Scotland an effective prisoner in the Union.
Leah Gunn Barrett
Edinburgh
IT is imperative that cool heads prevail amongst our leaders and that we don’t allow emotion to cloud our collective judgment when looking at the unfolding tragedy in the Middle East. Therefore I thought it would be helpful to simply look at numbers.
During the Blitz, which lasted for eight months from September 1940 to May 1941, 12,000 tons of bombs were dropped on London alone in an eight-month period, leading to 30,000 deaths, including that of my former father-in-law’s sister.
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In the four raids over Dresden conducted by the RAF and USAF between February 13 and 15 1945, 3900 tons of explosives were dropped, killing 25,000 people.
Between 1965 and 1975 the United States and its allies unloaded 7.5 million tons of explosives over Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, which was double that dropped on Europe and Asia during World War Two. It is estimated that two million civilians died and up to 1.4 million combatants.
In the first Gulf War, 88,500 tons were dropped on Iraq; in the 2003 invasion it was 29,199. Numbers for Afghanistan vary.
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In just 17 days the Israeli air force has dropped 12,000 tons of explosive on Gaza, which is one-quarter of the size of London. Tzipi Hotovely, Israel’s ambassador to Britain, told both a Sky News anchor and Piers Morgan on GB news on October 16 that the Dresden and Hamburg bombings were “worth it to defeat the Nazis”.
This is the same rationale used to defend the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
I would merely point out that on the Clyde we have four Trident submarines with at least one always on patrol. Each sub can carry up to 96 warheads. Each warhead is equivalent to eight Hiroshima bombs with a yield of 100 kilotons.
When will our leaders think that enough is enough?
Marjorie Ellis Thompson
Edinburgh
THE shadow of “populism” is long, and the light that it blocks allows the growth of the thickets of thorns of the scrub.
Darkness makes the truth hard to find and the briar thorns can tear at your flesh.
Trump wasn’t unique, he was just one of the “fruiting bodies” of the complex lattice of the subterranean collective which has been syphoning resources and funding from us the people for many years, making billionaires rich and increasing the disparity between the rich/powerful and poor.
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The others, like Johnson and the late Berlusconi, are now in the compost heap of political intrigue. Trump is on his way there also, but Netanyahu is hanging on by forming an alliance with a highly motivated group of zealots that are intent on establishing the full historic lands of Israel as written.
To be clear, Hamas’s actions were abominable.
But so too are the actions of Israel. On Monday night another 436 were killed, some of whom were children. Reports state that 40% of deaths due to the Israeli air strikes are of children.
Israel wants to eradicate Hamas, but Hamas exists for a reason, and addressing the reason why Hamas exists is the first step to resolving the problem.
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Hamas does not have 2.5 million followers or fighters. The population of Gaza are just like us, they want to live in peace with enough food and water and fun.
We need more leadership to pressurise Israel into stopping the bombing. But wait – Sunak and Starmer have hitched their horse to Netanyahu’s Israeli zealotry.
A poll indicated a significant population (70%) of Israel don’t like Netanyahu, so they have something in common with the Palestinians.
This is a start, hopefully.
Alistair Ballantyne
Angus
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