THOUGHTS ABOUT WAR POLITICS AND BLOOD

THOUGHTS ABOUT WAR POLITICS and BLOOD I’m sharing the body of this again because of the latest volley of treat and intimidations between the leaders of both North Korea and the United States. Just sharing thoughts about the politics and blood of war. Although I served just over 4 years in the Marine Corp during the Korean Conflict I didn’t have to kill anyone and my writing these thoughts ought to tell you no one killed me; the truce was signed shortly after my enlistment. I met combat hardened marines who had re-upped just to go back to the killing fields. They were angry when the truce was signed and cursed the coming peace. These were professional soldiers – professional killers. Whether one likes or despises professional killers we need them. There are people and governments around our beautiful globe who don’t like Americans – any kind of American – and will send professional killers to do us harm. So for bad people we need our own bad people to stop them. The politics of war is what a war is really about – the real reason we (any country) goes to war. Wars are fought for control and dominance of resources; that can be power, land, wealth, natural resources, and even people. Our country won’t just come right out and tell us that so the politics allows leaders to give us a palatable reason; one that we can accept: ‘We’re going to war to defend DEMOCRACY’ – that word has a good sound to it; it’s full of all short of good feelings like saving other people and spreading God’s will. The Blood of war is something quite different from the Politics of war. The blood of war is more about taking more lives than we give; it’s about winning at all cost. In the heat of battle, a fighting soldier (killer) isn’t thinking about democracy, he’s too busy taking blood and trying to keep his own. So, I’ve learned to separate the politics of war from the blood of war – I often condemn the politics but always honor the blood. The difference between the wars of yesterday and those of today is that the cost of a political victory is payed for with more blood – the weapons used by both sides are more devastating, more lethal. http://www.adolphusward.net