As the sounds and dust of the over publicized Osama killing dies down, I wonder if wars and battles are less to do with bravery now ?
Recently while watching a movie which is based on a traditional indian war weapon , I was wondering if anyone would be brave enough to use a weapon like that in the present day. To use that weapon the person needs to be in physical contact with the enemy or at an arms distance.The image of a sword swashing soldier on foot or a horse riding straight on to the enemy or returning back to his home in all its glory can be seen only on some soaps on legendary war heros in Television. Gone are the days of a soldier armed with dozens of artillery and backed with fiery camoflagued tanks also.. From a direct battleground warfare, it soon became tanks and air warfare where the soldiers are atleast masked in some comfort and now it has become closed room wars with live satellite telecast into the operation room.
Where are the wars and battles being fought these days ? Is it only in Iraq and Afghanistan ? In the old days, wars were fought on geography, or for imperialistic plundering or to spread an idology or religion.. how about it now ? Are battles being fought on the premises of the Rightful and the Rogue ? or like in Osama 's case , targetting one person ? Gadaffi, Sadam are all examples of a country or allied nations against one person..In this time and era, wars and battles are fought on other levels, on the internet, on social media, closed room meetings, silent drone attacks, the Oil war, financial war and so on and so forth. Soon after the second world war, warfare through sanctions and bans began. Essential commodities like food, oil , medicine etc also came under sanctions by the powerful few on the so called rogue nations. Then came the era of diplomatic , closed room warfare where a few representatives agree to disagree , pose for a few photo op's and decide on what needs to be told to the outside world. Years later, these discussions are telecasted on secret wikicables.
The financial war is another of the kind.The developed markets are on huge budged deficits and being financed by the third world countries, currencies are either propped up or maintained low and the whole aspect of global investment portfolio ensures that the whole financial market is a huge tangle. Any day if China decides to stop funding the US deficit, the next recession would be in row, bringing in unprecedented effect on the millions of american lives.
Another interesting aspect is to look at those who are fighting the present battles - there are nation conglomerates like US led " cleansing war " in Afghanistan, then there are People or public movements like the Arabic uprising in Libya, Egypt, Syria, Baharin, then the diplomatic tussles without much intended progress like the Indian Govt. vs the Pak Govt vs the ISI, ofcourse the highly effective select group wars like Mossad, Hamas, Taliban and so on and not to leave out the Chinese Govt and its stranglehold ( which it can tighten at any point) on the global market.Wow..that's quite a variety..
Are there enough anti war agencies to regulate these battles. After WW I , the League of Nations was set up and considered a failure, then came the United Nations after WW II.. does the UN have any serious role in the present day battles.. I have my doubts on that.. For that matter, can any agency actually regulate these battles ? again not a very feasible possibility.. So what can be the alternate, how to form a code of conduct steeped in the principles of live & let live or transparency.. some questions which are far beyond my overtaxed brain to answer...
