The Darfur conundrum KA Dilday - openDemocracy

Wed, 04 Apr 2007 03:48:18 -0000

Highlights and Sticky Notes:

there is something slightly condescending in the idea that a conflict in a country that has been riven by war for decades, can be ended immediately by a little of the west's firepower and paternal presence

Tags: conflict darfur peace

Posted by: vespertine

The war in American hearts and minds Andrew Stroehlein - openDemocracy

Tue, 12 Sep 2006 04:13:35 -0000

Highlights and Sticky Notes:

And even if people are getting used to believing they are living in wartime, this offers no great comfort, because when such a prevailing attitude exists for too long, a generation emerges that knows nothing else and can imagine nothing better. Surely Americans are not as deeply consumed by a conflict mentality as the young Afghans I spoke with in Kabul in 2002 who wanted their country to declare another war, this time on Pakistan. "But you've just been through decades of civil war, and your country is in ruins: don't you want peace?", I asked. "What is peace?" one of the group of 20-somethings replied.

Then they show a GoogleEarth-assisted look at potential targets in the Chicago area. Rail lines in blue, major highways in yellow, important landmarks and monuments as green circles, key commercial buildings as yellow circles, significant electricity infrastructure in red ... pretty soon the map of greater Chicago is just a pile of cluttered graphics, impossible to make out anything clearly. There are just too many targets; too many things to be afraid of.

The widespread belief in an existential war affects political decision-making on everything

When torture became a matter of public debate in the US soon after 9/11, it was the surest sign imaginable that something had really slipped in the American mind. That is also when it started to hit me just how traumatised Americans were, how the conflict mentality had warped their basic moral compass. Call me naïve or nostalgic, but the very idea of even discussing the use of torture is something I never expected to see in the country of my birth.

the widespread belief in an existential threat helps explain the sweeping changes in attitudes to security in everyday civic life - from armed soldiers patrolling public places like Grand Central Station in New York City and additional security checks on transport (some perhaps sensible, others bizarre: does my 3-year-old really need to take off her shoes for our fellow airline passengers to feel safe?). These measures are quite unsettling to those who recall a country that once rejoiced in extensive freedom of movement.

Fallows surveys dozens of security and terrorism experts to reach the assessment that al-Qaida is now mostly neutralised and sidelined, but that America's greatest danger remains the national feeling of vulnerability and the corresponding public pressure on politicians to provide security at any cost. This leads to disproportionate reactions and inappropriate spending priorities, both at home and abroad.

Tags: conflict fear security us waronterror

Posted by: vespertine

Guardian Unlimited | Comment is free | Promoting peace is for wimps - real governments sell weapons

Thu, 24 Aug 2006 04:26:02 -0000

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to Iran

Every government policy designed to protect our national interests or promote world peace is torn up at the arms companies' request.

There appears to be a sense among some at the core of government that peace, human rights and democracy are for wimps, while the serious business, for real players, is war and the means by which it is enacted.

Should we be surprised that, as the Times revealed on Monday, Israeli soldiers have found night-vision equipment made by a British company in Hizbullah bunkers?

Tags: arms conflict peace politics security

Posted by: vespertine

Comment is free: The dangers of 'game-changing'

Thu, 24 Aug 2006 02:51:22 -0000

Comments:

war games etc posted by vespertine

Tags: conflict game gametheory gender play

Posted by: vespertine

Vespertine's Favorite Links on conflict from Diigo

The Darfur conundrum KA Dilday - openDemocracy

The war in American hearts and minds Andrew Stroehlein - openDemocracy

Guardian Unlimited | Comment is free | Promoting peace is for wimps - real governments sell weapons

Comment is free: The dangers of 'game-changing'