Benajemin Franklin was right, “there was never a good war.” WWII was no exception to this. While for some it had gains, for some it brought nothing but destruction. It was a game of blood and capital. Control drove it, want for more territory, natural resources and markets watered it. For some it was an independence war and for some meant racial supremacy. It opened eyes to a truth long ignored, at least within the US borders, the truth of racial discrimination. It was an exposé of the empty concept of equality in the US and UK, which shaped many national and international policies. Whether based on ideological conviction or mere obedience, whether launched for peace or for violence, it killed and it killed. And once over, its tragedies swallowed up nations, cultures, civilizations and governments for ages to come.
Nobody wants war, we want peace, but to have peace, we wage war, against other nations, against other races, against other ethnic groups, against each other, and when no one is left, against nature, against ourselves, the ultimate war. Commitments to kill or be killed are made faster than to live and help live. It is a natural instinct to defend oneself, but what drives us to wage a war? Fear does, fear which appears to be courage. War is an act of fear wrapped in valor.
Stereotypes nurtured war and in return were strengthened by it, in particular with regards to their long term impact and during future crisis. Hindu-Muslim conflict derives its roots of conflict from religious and political stereotypes. Fundamentalist groups within Kashmir operate through agitating people against each other and Indians based on religious stereotypes, and Afghans killed each other based on ethnic stereotypes that date back to the times when Pashtun Monarchs skinned off members of Hazara ethnic group, Soviets threw POWs off helicopters, fundamentalist parties beheaded, skinned off, hammered nails in the heads of literally each other, raped women, destroyed all of what Afghans had as cultural heritage and Taliban massacred villages full of people and still continue to stone to death, execute, behead and dismember their opponents or those who commit non-conformity. And I can go on with parallels in other countries as well, parallels to the pattern in which war affects human behavior and drives human action.
The more I tried to skim through the chapter on war crimes, the more I could not resist reading every bit and the worse I felt, worse than when I had to record war crimes during the Afghan civil war of 1992-1996. What is interesting is that top level policy and decision makers never sanctioned war crimes but atrocities were committed throughout and by those in the war front, because war sanctions, is based on brutality and violence, and does not require human sanctions. While no party to a war was an exception to war crimes, none can be identified as the main culprit. None is criminal, yet all are. None is to be tried, yet all should be. War is a curse, and those who partake in it are cursed, but does this mean that there should never be justice for those who suffered? How should this work at national and international level, how can we ensure that our future global culture is not based on past war driven stereotypes? Should there be justice, or forgiveness?
I am for justice, but I also want to leave past behind and move ahead. Justice should be done but not at the cost of causing more violence, past should be left behind but not without lessons learned. How to keep a balance, how to be just and yet forgiving, is a question to which I have no answer.