Maina wa Njuguna
It is with no doubt we live in very perilous times; times that baby boomers’ parents and grandparents could possibly conceive and appreciate.
The WORLD SECURITY ORDER that has been in place since the end of the second world war in 1945 after the defeat of the German NAZI government by the allied forces led by The United States of America and some West European countries is being put to test by emerging super powers (authoritarian) such as China and the would to be – Russia which usually punches above its weight to demand some respect with lots of saber-rattling.
Since the admission of China to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in December, 11th, 2001, its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has had an astronomical rise from $1.3 trillion USD to 14.7 trillion USD today making it the second largest economy in the world.
With respect to GDP per capita, China ranked then 126 out of 195 countries at 1045 USD per Country Economy. Today, its GDP per capita at 12,556 USD is relatively smaller compared to its GDP rankings because of its large population. The US GDP at 25.5 trillion USD ranks the highest in the world and its GDP per capita is a whooping 75,180 USD second to none.
Russia by comparison is a much, much smaller economy with a GDP of 2.133 trillion USD which ranks 9th in the world behind Canada at 2.20 trillion USD. As written previously, Russia saber-rattling is a means of punching above its weight because of its immense nuclear weaponry that it inherited after the demise of United Soviet Socialist Republic (USSR) in 1991.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year to some that study the region was not something completely out of the norm. In 2008, Russia invaded Georgia 🇬🇪 and it currently occupies 20% of its internationally recognized territory.
After the Russo-Georgian war, Russia occupies and recognizes regions of Georgia as autonomous namely – Republic of Abkhazia and South Ossetian. Does this sound familiar with what is going on in Ukraine today? The Russian government recognizes Ukraine rebel areas as independent regions, namely – Donetsk and Luhansk.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine 🇺🇦 was that moment that upended European Union security which confirmed fears that countries sharing a long border with Russia 🇷🇺 such as Finland 🇫🇮 had been weary of. The two countries share over 800 miles (1,300 kilometers) long.
Brussels, European Union (EU) 🇪🇺 capital has been bracing of the new dawn in light of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Scrambling for new energy sources has not and isn’t an easy feat. The over reliance on Russia as it main source of energy left it exposed and vulnerable.
Could the ‘mismanagement’ of THE WORLD ORDER resulting to a series of major blunders have caused resentment in some quarters and a quest for an alternate or at the very minimum a counter balancing system?
MAJOR BLUNDERS
US military interventions and regime changes are some of the most reviled foreign policies by autocratic governments.
These governments are very unpopular internally and the US mission of democratization is seen as a direct threat. Some include China, North Korea, Russia, Sudan, Venezuela, etc.
Some major blunders include but not limited to: The US. Vietnam War 🇻🇳 (1954 -1975) that resulted in over 58,000 US service men deaths, and many more suffered what is now knownas Post Trumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and the enormous costs associated with it.
Likely a million or more Vietnamese deaths, exact numbers will never be known and the hundreds of billions of dollars spent, much of which is considered a total waste.
The 20 year occupation of Haiti 🇭🇹 (Jul 28, 1915 – Aug 1, 1934) where virtually no U.S. taxpayer dollars were spent. The US imposed tariffs on imports and exports to fund the “nation building” and meet expenses which were incurred during the long and relatively peaceful occupation. As soon as the US left, the Haitiian political factions retured to settle old scores.
US INVASION OF IRAQ IN 2003 🇮🇶: It is now widely believed that the US invasion of Iraq in the guise of weapons of mass destruction in the spring of 2003 was one of the worst mistakes of the 21st century. Whatever the reasons were, what is now clear is that there were no weapons of mass destruction, none!
According the the US Department of Defense, the Iraq war resulted in 4,431 US soldiers and others in service lives lost and 31,994 wounded in action (WIA). Think of the immense toll on the maimed who came back – mentally, emotionally, physically or otherwise and that of their loved ones? What about the immense cost of the US treasury at 815 USD billion?
What about the lives of Iraqis lost? The Watson Institute of International and Public Affairs estimates between 280,771 and 315,190 Iraqis died as a result of the US -Iraq war. That does not include likely the hundreds of thousands more whose lives were ravaged for good.
THE 2011 MILITARY INTERVENTION IN LIBYA 🇱🇾 On March 19th, 2011, the US led as part of The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) the invasion of Libya toppling the government and the eventual overthrow of its leader, Col. Muammar Gaddafi.
The purpose of the intervention according to UN was to implement United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973 in order to have a ceasefire in the country and to protect the civilian population from Gaddafi regime and its supporters.
The consequences of this invasion, the country is unstable and mired in tussles of sectarian and tribal militias, armed and in conflict with each other according to Brazilian author Moniz Bandeira.
The air bombings turned Lybian cities to rubbles and 90,000 to 120,000 war casualties. This also displaced over 2 million Libyans.
Notice how former US President Obama acknowledges his worst mistake was the invasion of Libya, yet on the same breath quickly qualifies the invasion with an explanation about the failed planning of its aftermath as his regret.
Image: /James D Morgan – Getty Images/
In an interview with a media outlet on April, 2016, US president Obama was asked about his “worst mistake. His response, “Probably failing to plan for the day after, what I think was the right thing to do, in intervening in Libya.”
Barack Obama
These are really going to be very challenging times. The digital age has converged the world 🌎 where misinformation travels in seconds from one part of the world to another. Our well-being is intertwined and evil forces expending energy on one part soon affects other regions.
The proliferation of weapons of mass destruction especially in the hands of scrupulous regimes seriously treaten the world’s global security.
The need to seat at the table and seek alternative ways to solve global problems, couldn’t be more necessary, even much more than when the The Allies, the so-called “Big Three”— the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, and the United States met to find away to avoid a 3rd world war and the onset of the formation of the United Nations (UN). It is time to wear big boy pants and behave as such; the alternative is the ultimate demise of mother earth.
