Reflection...

I've been thinking about war today. It was the most unlikely setting to do so really...sitting as I was eating my 'Golden Hoops' before going to Mass. Especially I was reflecting on the debacle in Afghanistan: To date at least 100 UK service personnel have lost their lives, God knows how may Americans & who knows (indeed no-one every mentions them) the number of Afghans who have died since the 'Allies' marched in to that country with the reason , so we're told, to bring "democracy & stop terrorism in the west..."
War in my view is nothing more than a quasi legal way of murder/killing. It is one nations & its leader(s) method of imposing their will upon another. Whether that be Hitler upon the Poles, Pol Pot upon his fellow Cambodians or to date Bush, Blair & now Gordon Brown imposing "democracy" & a western version of government upon Afghanistan. Sure one could debate that the Taliban were the 'natural' government of that nation? But were they not also a non elected government who forced & maintained their will upon the populace?
So therefore I mused, all war is just one government imposing by brute force their will upon another. You can dress it up in what ever way you will. Call it democratizing, preventing terrorism or even by saying that by invading the country will be "brought into the 21st Century"
Whatever. Its forced imposition of your will & methods upon another.
So what about the service personnel who have died? Well As yet we haven't got conscription, so they weren't 'forced' to join up. Death & injury are an occupational hazard of life in the military as much as needle stick injuries are to a nurse who take blood for a living.
Not so though the Afghans. They have no chance. Their very poor standard of living has rendered them powerless. They are victims of any greater force that chooses to impose their will in their own homeland.
They then are the real 'Heroes of this 'war', they have no say, they HAVE to be there, its THEIR home not ours.
The solution?? Dialogue...we need to talk with the Taliban. Only then will this 'war' end & the real victims achieve peace & a system of government & standard of life they deserve.