I remember an American friend saying to me a few years back that Australians could not possibly appreciate their freedom, as they have not fought for it like other countries. Fighting for one’s freedom supposedly makes one appreciate it more. According to my friend, Australia needs either a full on civil war, or needs to militarily defend its territory from an invader in order for patriotism to truly stick.
Today Australia and New Zealand commemorate ANZAC Day. On this day, brave young Australian and New Zealand men fought side by side against Turkish troops at Gallipoli in Turkey. The ANZACS lost dismally, but the spirit of the friendship formed has only grown stronger these last 94 years.
If you were to ask any soldier what makes them emotional on this day, it is not the battles they fought. Those who have seen armed combat are the soldiers who don’t want to talk about it. Only the ones who had a nominal military role are the ones full of hot air about fighting for one’s country. The emotional moments are always about friensdhips formed, and more importantly than friendships, emotional and almost spiritual bonds that happened out of what is always an horrific example of humanity at its worst; war.
War should always be the absolute last option, and it disgusted me more than anything, to see former President George W Bush go to war on a whim. How does one answer a terrorist attack on US soil that killed 3,000 citizens? Send at least 3,000 more to their deaths so one man can settle a score his father failed to do. Will the war in Iraq make us a proud world? Did it do anything to truly advance freedom?
When we see the Taliban rearing its ugly head in Afghanistan and Pakistan, this is a time when we need the spirit of the ANZACS. This is a regime that is the worst kind of scenario for any country. I see no point in the war in Iraq, but I do see a point in the war in Afghanistan. The common theme that is spoken when discussing war, and probably what my American friend illuded too, is that war needs to occur in order for true freedom to be protected. If the Taliban get hold of Afghanistan and Pakistan, it will create a massive problem in the Middle East, much more of a threat than Saddam Hussein ever was or Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ever will be. The Taliban are a nightmare, and a dangerous nightmare. If you have ever read the book ‘The Kite Runner’, you will know that this is not just a regime that has no respect for women. This is a regime hellbent on vicious, violent control, and they will stop at nothing to get it. It is up to us to band together, like soldiers before us, and rid the world of this true threat to humanity.
In my last post I argued that the politics of fear that the right wing wax lyrical about, has to stop. Their aim is to destroy everyone who does not see eye to eye with their ultra conservative, evangelical Christian views. They are a danger in themselves. We may very well need another civil war in order to rid the world of them. When I refer to the Taliban, I am pointing out to the world what is a real threat, not an imagined one, that is on the move into countries beyond Afghanistan. Adolf Hitler was not a perceived threat who we thought might do something. He was on the move, and his practical efforts at poltical domination were very evident. Ahmadinejad talks a lot, but if he was ever going to be a realistic threat, he would have made his move by now. Saddam Hussein was a dictator, but apart from a half cocked attempt to control neighbouring Kuwait back in the 1990’s, he was easily ‘contained in a box’ as former President Bill Clinton once said.
If we ever have to send out soldiers into harm’s way, let it not be a repeat of what those that landed on the Gallipoli Peninsula suffered in 1915. An ill prepared battle resulted in one of the most disastrous military failures of all time, and an enormous loss of life. Iraq is America’s Gallipoli, but Afghanistan need not be. It has the backing of the world community. We see a real threat to the security of our world, not just the Middle East. Most importantly, we see what true freedom will be like for both Afghanistan and Pakistan at the end. That is something we still do not see in Iraq after all these years.
On this ANZAC Day, my thoughts are with all service men and women, regardless of nationality, and the service they give to their country. But most importantly, let us all remember those who have laid down their lives for their country in any of history’s conflicts.
“…at the going down of the sun, and in the morning, we will remember them.”
Lest We Forget.
Enjoy your day
April 30, 2009 at 2:49 pm
I just wrote a piece about Anzac Day for my own blog and it was very interesting to read yours. I believe you are right about Afghanistan. I’m currently listening to a book by an American journalist who speaks Arabic and was in Iraq for the first year of the ongoing conflict.
April 30, 2009 at 8:40 pm
Thanks for the comment. Days such as these become more poignant when they are immersed in the current context of conflict. I’ve enjoyed reading your blog too.