ankhmor
03-22-2011, 07:33 PM
this is my grade 12 English essay
please critique harshly
May history never repeat itself, except by the hands of the West.
Everyone makes mistakes. Humanity, being everyone, makes mistakes. Most are forgotten, as human memory is not too great. It lasts just a few decades at best and that is due to recent rapid advances in technology. With advances in technology however, the mistakes become amplified; such as the Holocaust. People all over the world have been thought to never let it happen again, or anything else that wrongs the human rights. Yet, it is very hard. With a memory full of holes, it is hard to remember what one or many have done wrong and it is even more difficult when most do not care. People, as humans, biologically are self-centric and generally have no interest in pain and suffering of their distant brother and sisters in faraway lands, especially if they receive personal gain.
People, are like most mammals, have hardcoded biological instincts that drive them to have hierarchy in their societies, creating groups of few that speak for the many. Those few have positions that are considered top level, and at this level the true human nature comes out. Politics have been considered the “dirty” business for centuries and rightly so. Even the “humane” and “peaceful” governments, also known as a collection of top rank hypocrites, such as in Canada are still “soiled”. Politicians make decisions that are always selfish, from their countries perspective, their own perspective, or both.
What can be found humorous is the expectation of the world that mistakes of the past can be prevented if one was to put the politicians in charge of doings so. The effect of this direction of thinking is proudly presented as the United Nations: a collection of egoistic exhibits that may originally had noble goals and some power in the international arena, but have lost it all. In the words of one Russian journalist, “The United Nations have rotted to its core”. With no coalition to prevent criminal events internationally, there is no one to stop the superpowers and their allies from abusing their might.
Unfortunately for Libya, it has become, or rather will become the most recent example of how a superpower and its allies can lie, and twist its way out of political scandal, meanwhile committing illegal international acts. “May history never repeat itself”, is a slogan that is used when referring to the Holocaust, but somehow inapplicable to Bosnia, Afghanistan, and Iraq. The aspect that almost angers me is the similarity of the events in all the three above mentioned countries, and now Libya; one can easily see identical stages in the timeline of these conflicts, yet there is no one to prevent the past from being the present.
The reason for invading a sovereign country in the ancient times could be as simple as “I don’t like you”, in the twenty first century however, it needs to be a noble cause. Selecting a “noble cause” for the world politicians is usually a hard task, with so many being around. To decide which conflicts can be classified under “noble” and “cause”, an extremely strict criterion is used; the one and only condition is that the interference in the political unrest in a sovereign state, must conceive a significant gain for only their country, in direct and indirect paths.
The armed rebellion in Libya on February the fifteenth of this year, having a great potential, gave a false appearance of being capable of overthrowing the Muammar Gadhafi’s regime. That probably caused some European countries, such as Britain and France, which until this uprising had friendly ties with Gadhafi, to betray him prematurely and show their double-faced nature. Those who denounced Gadhafi are now probably thinking that this decision was a bit too hasty; the Libyan regular army has regrouped and driven the rebellion back to its last stronghold in just a few days. Until the chances of the National Transitional Council, the rebellions temporary government, of winning had practically dropped to zero, the West had no interest in interfering with the flow of conflict; NATO coalition, commonly dubbed as the West were gaining everything they could ever obtain from the conflict without meddling in Libyan affairs, and avoiding possible severe international political backlash, as long as the anti-Gadhafi forces won.
Unfortunately for Libyan people the rebellion did not succeed on its own; as of now it looks like Libya will share a similar fate to Iraq and Afghanistan. The UN resolution that allowed NATO forces to enter Libya stated that the airspace around the last stronghold of the rebellion, Benghazi, is to be a no fly zone. It gave no permission for any type of assault on the forces loyal to Muammar Gadhafi, yet the western forces had delivered air strikes on Gadhafi’s territory. USA, as always, decided to outdo the rest of the world, declared that it will not participate in the assaults on Libyan regular army, and soon after launched one hundred twenty four “Tomahawk” type missiles targeting pro-Gadhafi targets, successfully spending five hundred sixty nine thousand dollars per missile, totaling seventy one million dollars.
The western forces entered Libya for the same reasons USA invaded Iraq in 2003 and probably Afghanistan and Bosnia: personal and national gain. The scenario is the same. Create a bogus reason to invade or enter a country with large military force; tell the world how it is for its own safety and how the invaded country will become a democracy with the help of the West. Then stay in the country for as long as they please, creating an impression of trying to instate a democracy in the occupied country, while in reality the state of people’s affairs has become worse, and worsens with the presence of the western forces. And while they stay, western politicians will be able to control Libya like a puppet, sucking the natural resources out of it; the West does not even have to aid the rebellion in taking control of the rest of Libya, all they need is oil which is already under the rebels’ control.
It is a matter of opinion when it comes to overthrowing oppressive regimes with outside help. It is morally right decision to enter Libya, and bring Muammar Gadhafi’s regime to an end. However it is still a crime to enter a sovereign country without its permission and interfere with its internal affairs; corresponding to a civilian equivalent of trespassing, causing bodily harm, and such. As stated above, this issue is a matter of opinion, and invasion of Libya and Iraq can be viewed as both a crime and a noble act. Unfortunately, the western forces entering Libya is an illegal act, because of the ultimate reasons behind it; the West’s propagates that they are helping people of Libya, when in reality they are after the country’s natural resources.
A few questions arise when NATO members critique Gadhafi and sympathize with Libyan people. If the regime in Libya was so tyrannical, why was there nothing done about it before the revolution has started and almost died? Why was there nothing done to prevent conflicts such as in Rwanda and Chechnya? The answer is simple: the losses outweigh the gains. There would be too much political backslash if there was no solid cover up reasons; for example none existed in Libya until the uprising. In the example of Rwanda, there was no gain from interfering with the merciless killing of thousands.
This is just the tip of the iceberg. Politics is a craft that is too dirty, too opaque. History is too easily forgotten. When you mix the two of them, the past is always bound to repeat itself. Bosnia, Afghanistan, Iraq and now Libya will be replaced by others, since humanity easily forgets and walks into identical traps. It is a noble cause to bring freedom and democracy to struggling, internally oppressed countries such as Libya. However, it is still an illegal act to invade a country against its will. Invading a country for its resources under a fraudulent noble cause is a crime of colossal proportions. USA, as a superpower, and its allies, members of NATO will worsen the situation for the Libyan people; they will bring more violence and no democracy, while probably stealing their oil. There will be no political scandal. There will be a second Iraq.
please critique harshly
May history never repeat itself, except by the hands of the West.
Everyone makes mistakes. Humanity, being everyone, makes mistakes. Most are forgotten, as human memory is not too great. It lasts just a few decades at best and that is due to recent rapid advances in technology. With advances in technology however, the mistakes become amplified; such as the Holocaust. People all over the world have been thought to never let it happen again, or anything else that wrongs the human rights. Yet, it is very hard. With a memory full of holes, it is hard to remember what one or many have done wrong and it is even more difficult when most do not care. People, as humans, biologically are self-centric and generally have no interest in pain and suffering of their distant brother and sisters in faraway lands, especially if they receive personal gain.
People, are like most mammals, have hardcoded biological instincts that drive them to have hierarchy in their societies, creating groups of few that speak for the many. Those few have positions that are considered top level, and at this level the true human nature comes out. Politics have been considered the “dirty” business for centuries and rightly so. Even the “humane” and “peaceful” governments, also known as a collection of top rank hypocrites, such as in Canada are still “soiled”. Politicians make decisions that are always selfish, from their countries perspective, their own perspective, or both.
What can be found humorous is the expectation of the world that mistakes of the past can be prevented if one was to put the politicians in charge of doings so. The effect of this direction of thinking is proudly presented as the United Nations: a collection of egoistic exhibits that may originally had noble goals and some power in the international arena, but have lost it all. In the words of one Russian journalist, “The United Nations have rotted to its core”. With no coalition to prevent criminal events internationally, there is no one to stop the superpowers and their allies from abusing their might.
Unfortunately for Libya, it has become, or rather will become the most recent example of how a superpower and its allies can lie, and twist its way out of political scandal, meanwhile committing illegal international acts. “May history never repeat itself”, is a slogan that is used when referring to the Holocaust, but somehow inapplicable to Bosnia, Afghanistan, and Iraq. The aspect that almost angers me is the similarity of the events in all the three above mentioned countries, and now Libya; one can easily see identical stages in the timeline of these conflicts, yet there is no one to prevent the past from being the present.
The reason for invading a sovereign country in the ancient times could be as simple as “I don’t like you”, in the twenty first century however, it needs to be a noble cause. Selecting a “noble cause” for the world politicians is usually a hard task, with so many being around. To decide which conflicts can be classified under “noble” and “cause”, an extremely strict criterion is used; the one and only condition is that the interference in the political unrest in a sovereign state, must conceive a significant gain for only their country, in direct and indirect paths.
The armed rebellion in Libya on February the fifteenth of this year, having a great potential, gave a false appearance of being capable of overthrowing the Muammar Gadhafi’s regime. That probably caused some European countries, such as Britain and France, which until this uprising had friendly ties with Gadhafi, to betray him prematurely and show their double-faced nature. Those who denounced Gadhafi are now probably thinking that this decision was a bit too hasty; the Libyan regular army has regrouped and driven the rebellion back to its last stronghold in just a few days. Until the chances of the National Transitional Council, the rebellions temporary government, of winning had practically dropped to zero, the West had no interest in interfering with the flow of conflict; NATO coalition, commonly dubbed as the West were gaining everything they could ever obtain from the conflict without meddling in Libyan affairs, and avoiding possible severe international political backlash, as long as the anti-Gadhafi forces won.
Unfortunately for Libyan people the rebellion did not succeed on its own; as of now it looks like Libya will share a similar fate to Iraq and Afghanistan. The UN resolution that allowed NATO forces to enter Libya stated that the airspace around the last stronghold of the rebellion, Benghazi, is to be a no fly zone. It gave no permission for any type of assault on the forces loyal to Muammar Gadhafi, yet the western forces had delivered air strikes on Gadhafi’s territory. USA, as always, decided to outdo the rest of the world, declared that it will not participate in the assaults on Libyan regular army, and soon after launched one hundred twenty four “Tomahawk” type missiles targeting pro-Gadhafi targets, successfully spending five hundred sixty nine thousand dollars per missile, totaling seventy one million dollars.
The western forces entered Libya for the same reasons USA invaded Iraq in 2003 and probably Afghanistan and Bosnia: personal and national gain. The scenario is the same. Create a bogus reason to invade or enter a country with large military force; tell the world how it is for its own safety and how the invaded country will become a democracy with the help of the West. Then stay in the country for as long as they please, creating an impression of trying to instate a democracy in the occupied country, while in reality the state of people’s affairs has become worse, and worsens with the presence of the western forces. And while they stay, western politicians will be able to control Libya like a puppet, sucking the natural resources out of it; the West does not even have to aid the rebellion in taking control of the rest of Libya, all they need is oil which is already under the rebels’ control.
It is a matter of opinion when it comes to overthrowing oppressive regimes with outside help. It is morally right decision to enter Libya, and bring Muammar Gadhafi’s regime to an end. However it is still a crime to enter a sovereign country without its permission and interfere with its internal affairs; corresponding to a civilian equivalent of trespassing, causing bodily harm, and such. As stated above, this issue is a matter of opinion, and invasion of Libya and Iraq can be viewed as both a crime and a noble act. Unfortunately, the western forces entering Libya is an illegal act, because of the ultimate reasons behind it; the West’s propagates that they are helping people of Libya, when in reality they are after the country’s natural resources.
A few questions arise when NATO members critique Gadhafi and sympathize with Libyan people. If the regime in Libya was so tyrannical, why was there nothing done about it before the revolution has started and almost died? Why was there nothing done to prevent conflicts such as in Rwanda and Chechnya? The answer is simple: the losses outweigh the gains. There would be too much political backslash if there was no solid cover up reasons; for example none existed in Libya until the uprising. In the example of Rwanda, there was no gain from interfering with the merciless killing of thousands.
This is just the tip of the iceberg. Politics is a craft that is too dirty, too opaque. History is too easily forgotten. When you mix the two of them, the past is always bound to repeat itself. Bosnia, Afghanistan, Iraq and now Libya will be replaced by others, since humanity easily forgets and walks into identical traps. It is a noble cause to bring freedom and democracy to struggling, internally oppressed countries such as Libya. However, it is still an illegal act to invade a country against its will. Invading a country for its resources under a fraudulent noble cause is a crime of colossal proportions. USA, as a superpower, and its allies, members of NATO will worsen the situation for the Libyan people; they will bring more violence and no democracy, while probably stealing their oil. There will be no political scandal. There will be a second Iraq.