The scandals, sarcasm and paradoxes of war – Dr. Abdullah bin Musa Al Tayer
Dr. Abdullah bin Musa Al Tayer
One of the ironies in human life is that even in the face of extreme disasters and danger, they find ways to laugh, and wartime is no exception to this, as funny stories and incidents occur even in the midst of battles that provide moments of joy in the midst of complete chaos. However, these funny incidents and situations do not change the reality of the absurdity of war, its brutality, and its human cost.
Laughter may be a strong excuse for adaptation, even in the most difficult circumstances, and this is what shocks us when we see sincere smiles on tortured lips in Gaza that the cameras surprise us with from time to time, to express the strength that the people of the land and truth enjoy and their ability to adapt and withstand; Those smiles are like bullets in their impact on child killers.
Funny moments are not the only ones that may storm the battlefields, but war may also create an environment in which corruption and abuse of power flourish, as the state of ambiguity that war creates provides a favorable opportunity for the corrupt to escape accountability for their actions, especially since the very high risks make people willing to bear Risks they do not face in a peaceful and peaceful life.
It is said about the Yemenis during the 1994 unification war between the North and the South that the soldiers stopped killing each other at bedtime and the two warring camps exchanged khat. This is a custom that dominates the northern regions between midday and approximately four in the afternoon, when people gather around packages of khat. Similarly, during World War I, soldiers on both sides of the Western Front spontaneously ceased hostilities on Christmas Day 1914. They sang carols, exchanged gifts, and even played football together. This poignant event highlighted the common humanity of the combatants, even in the midst of… That brutal war.
For camouflage purposes, armies in times of war used and invented strange ways to deceive the enemy, such as the British recruiting British actor M. E. Clifton James to impersonate Field Marshal Montgomery to confuse the Germans about the Allied plans during World War II. This included him touring North Africa in full uniform, Pretending to be the famous general. During the Vietnam War, a hollow wooden cow filled with explosives was used to infiltrate an American base, but the plan failed when the cow got stuck in the mud.
Because most of the fire is from small sparks; In the Pig War of 1859 AD, the conflict between the United States and Britain over a pig on San Juan Island escalated into a military confrontation, and both sides deployed their forces in preparation for the confrontation. However, fortunately, calm minds prevailed, and the war was avoided, which almost destroyed the crop and the breed due to the slaughtered pig. Not far from this trivial reason that almost caused a war between America and Britain, football in 1969 between El Salvador and Honduras caused a short war between the two countries, and although the war itself was tragic, the spark that ignited the conflict remained a source of black humor. As for the Korean War, the US Marine unit found itself without pants (trousers) due to a supply error, and they were forced to patrol in their underwear until supplies arrived. In that war, specifically in 1968, American soldiers killed hundreds of unarmed Vietnamese civilians, including women and children, in the village of My Lai. The massacre ignited anger and fueled anti-war sentiments. It is strange in the cycles of time that these sentiments were not fueled by the killing of tens of thousands of children. and women and elderly civilians in the Gaza Strip. Anger did not flare up enough to stop the war, as happened in Vietnam. How cheap Arab blood is! If anything is worth mentioning, the Abu Ghraib prison scandal in 2004 damaged the reputation of the American army and ignited anti-American sentiment in the Middle East, while the scandals of Israeli soldiers against Palestinian prisoners in the occupation prisons are circulated as passing news that does not stir consciences or arouse the anger of human feelings. .
And because events call for this example, in the 1980s, the Reagan administration secretly sold weapons to Iran in exchange for the release of American hostages, and then used the profits from the sales to finance anti-communist rebels in Nicaragua, in violation of American law, and the weapons planes returned from Latin America loaded with drugs to American bases. Tomorrow, the history of wars will record a farcical situation occurring now between Iran and Israel, as they exchange blows in an action and reaction known in advance and well-calculated, while Gaza and Lebanon are destroyed with unparalleled cruelty and brutality.
