The following are just some examples of what had happens when countries intervene in certain situations due to ideological reasons and loyalty to supposed allies. I have used two failed wars as examples so as to emphasize the gravity of the situation we now face and the real consequences of such lunacy…
•USA: Vietnam. Massive amount of money put into fighting the war.
They went in to prop-up the unpopular capitalist government, the war lasted for 10 years… US casualties = 58,159 Military personnel. Vietnamese casualties = 3,176,000 (1,176,000 Military and approximatly 2,000,000 civilians).
The war was lost because the US misunderstood the complexity of the situation they were walking into, they failed to take the advice of the French “don’t go there”, they didn’t understand the determination of the people they were dealing with, they lost the war at home when they drafted the impoverished rather than the rich, they lost the support of their people, they went into debt trying to finance the industrial – military complex, it also led to a wasted generation as those who came out the other end were scared for life.
•Russia: Afghanistan. A massive amount of money was put into fighting the war.
They went in to prop-up the unpopular communist government, the war lasted for almost 10 years… Soviet casualties = 15,031 Military personnel (Modest soviet numbers). Afghan casualties= over 1 million Afghans were killed. 5 million Afghans fled to Pakistan and Iran, 1/3 of the prewar population of the country.
The war was lost because the Soviets too misunderstood the complexity of the situation they were walking into, they didn’t understand the nature and history of the country, they didn’t understand the mentality of the people they were dealing with, they lost the war at home when they lost the support of their people, they went into debt trying to finance the war, within 3 years the Soviet Union went bankrupt and ceased to exist, its war also led to a wasted generation as those who came home were themselves casualties.
•Ireland: Banks. Again a massive amount of money was put into preventing the bank(s) from going bust.
They went in to prop-up the unpopular bankers and developers. The bail-out has lasted for less than 1 year… there is no end in sight. Bankers imprisoned or punished = 0. Irish casualties = 3.8 million civilians (excluding the very rich). 840,000 Young Irish people may have to emigrate to America, Canada, Britain, Australia, New Zealand, etc. 1/5 of the pre-economic collapse population of the country.
The bail-out has failed because the Irish government misunderstood the complexity of the situation they were walking into. They failed to take the advice of the Swedish “You must nationalise the bad banks in order for the plan to work”, they didn’t understand the nature and history of the banks, they didn’t understand the ineptitude, stupidity and greed of the people they were dealing with, they lost the case for bailing out the banks when they lost the support of the people who were loosing their jobs in record numbers, whilst the excessively wealthy simply walked away and left the less well-off to pay for the mess, the government went into debt trying to finance various bail-out packages, within another year the Republic of Ireland could go bankrupt and cease to exist as a sovereign nation, its misadventure with the banks will lead to a lost generation as those who are the best and brightest in the country will simply leave and never return.
Thanks for reading,
Colm J. Carrigg
