Leader in war could be leader in peace 

  Friday, December 14, 2007

    By Ivan Simic

In our contemporary world there are 245 entities, which include; countries,
independent states (both internationally recognized and generally
unrecognized), inhabited dependent territories, and areas of special
sovereignty. 

Almost, all of these entities have fought some kind of war and
battle in their history for various reasons, such as: independence,
religion, revolution, liberation, occupation, among others. According to war
history, over 365 million people lost their lives in these wars, including
ongoing ones. Unfortunately, the final number of war victims will never be
known.

For centuries, numerous wars were fought among countries, and in relation to
that, we cannot ignore one country that has participated or had a big
influence in many of them, especially recent ones. That country is the
United States of America (USA).

The United States proclaimed independence from Great Britain on July 4, 1776,
but was officially recognized on September 3, 1783, and since then, the
USA was involved in over 285 domestic and international military conflicts,
some of which were: World War I and II, Vietnam War, Korean War, Gulf War,
and ongoing wars: Iraq War (Second Persian Gulf War), War in Somalia, War on
Terrorism (Operation Enduring Freedom); Afghanistan, Philippines, Trans
Sahara, among others. If we look through world history for the last fifty
years, we can see that no country has been involved in as many military
conflicts as the United States has.

Currently, the USA has over 369,000 active military personnel deployed
outside the USA, including: around 170.000 troops in Iraq, Japan
48.844 troops, Germany 63.958 troops, South Korea 26.477 troops, the UK 10.967 troops, among others. Also, the USA has; 27 Air Force Bases, 3 Army Bases, 4 Navy Bases, and 1 Barracks worldwide. Without these military installations, the USA
would be vulnerable like any other country, and a country without major
influence in the International System.

Therefore, general opinion would be that; the USA is a very aggressive
country, but is she? For instance, if we compare the world entities to one
big family; then we can say that the USA is like a "big brother" to the
remaining countries. The USA is always there to help and protect small
countries, to support, to give financial aid, but also to discipline some in
order to make them better. The United States likes to be called the "leader
of the free world", while others believe that she is a ruler, perhaps
conqueror. However, many are wondering if she is capable of being a leader.
Well, the USA is one of the youngest countries in the world, but she took
that chance and became a leader, while others didn't. Being a leader is not
easy, and occasionally she makes mistakes, therefore it is up to older and
wiser countries to help her realize them.

We are evidencing dramatic changes in the world today; China, India, Russia
and European Union are getting economically stronger, and the USA economy is
beginning to stagnate. If this trend continues, then the only way for the
United States to remain a superpower, and dominant economical, political,
cultural, and military force in the world will be to fight wars. It would be
better for the United States to use warfare money and invest in the domestic
economy, instead of spending billions of dollars on useless wars.

In regard to the above, it looks like the American people didn't get anything
good from these hopeless wars, especially recent ones. These days, American
citizens lives in constant fears from terrorist attacks, and they became
potential targets for terrorist worldwide.

However, there are few very interesting facts: many countries have policy
against the USA, her way of conducting politics and way of living, but at
the same time wants to be like her. It is similar with different
nationalities, many of them don't like Americans, but almost every person in
the world would like to become an American citizen and live in the USA. Take
for instance how many Mexicans, Chinese, Cubans, and even Muslims from
countries that the USA army have occupied live in the United States, and
struggle to become citizens. Many countries have implemented numerous US
Laws and regulations, and it is evident the number of immigrants coming to
the United States is increasing every year.

So, what can we expect from the United States in the future?

No one knows, let's just hope that she will end this war trend and use her
resources to bring harmony to the world, so that we can enjoy her leadership
in a peaceful and understanding way.


Ivan Simic lives in Belgrade, Serbia. Address: Paloticeva 12, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia, Tel: +381 63  7508500.