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Europe and war


Europe and war

Last week, Finland, Sweden and Norway distributed leaflets on how to stock up on supplies and create bomb shelters at home, warning the population about a likely ramification of Russia's war with Ukraine to border countries.

Until the middle of this year, my son Felipe was on exchange in Denmark, and the garage of the house he lived in had already been transformed into a storehouse of non-perishable food, water and toilet paper, for when the war came.

The whole of Europe is following with apprehension the latest statements by President Vladimir Putin, the United States and the trio of England, France and Germany, in order to seek to avoid the escalation of the conflict and a peaceful solution. Joe Biden, at the end of his Presidency, left a bomb for his successor, Donald Trump, to defuse, allowing Ukraine to use American-made and handled missiles against Russia.

Putin has already spoken out publicly, declaring that he feels legitimized in moving against the powers that supplied long-range missiles and mines to Ukraine, of their own manufacture, for use against the opponent. The embassies of several countries in Kiev were evacuated for fear of attacks.

The truth is that the nations arm Ukraine because they themselves do not want to start a war against Russia, which would culminate in a conflict of global proportions. Everyone is afraid of Russian nuclear power and the impetuosity of its President. Thus, they are giving full powers to Volodymyr Zelenski, as their leaders do not want to live with the eternal stamp that they caused the 3rd World War.

Today's global scenario is very similar to that before the First World War. There are the same tensions between powers, disputes over territories and natural resources, arms races, difficulties in joint understanding and the creation of parallel pacts between powers, such as Russia, China and North Korea, a bloc completely aligned with communism.

On the other hand, the UN and other global organizations such as NATO are sinking in deep waters, completely unable to mediate disputes of interests and existing conflicts. This week, in yet another isolated and controversial decision, which has already been the target of criticism and non-compliance by several countries, the ICC – International Criminal Court based in The Hague, issued arrest warrants against Benjamin Netanyahu and the former Israeli defense minister, at the same time that it issued the same type of warrant against the leader of Hamas, placing the three of them on the same measuring stick (if that would be possible or acceptable), for committing the crime of genocide, in another immensely dangerous and challenging situation unfolding in the Middle East.

With Iran and its nuclear capacity lurking, sponsoring Hamas and Hezbollah, who kidnapped 240 Jews more than a year ago, in Israeli territory and killed another 1400, in a surprise attack, carried out in October 2023, brainless young people scream “ Free Palestine” and support for Islam out there, little imagining that what they are defending is the spread of terror, torture, mutilation, social restrictions and prohibitions of all kinds, murder of homosexuals and women, sponsorship of armed terrorist groups and the end of the Western world as we know it. The last barrier in the Middle East for Islam to advance over the West is Israel.

And the world is moving fast towards the culmination of this situation, without knowing for sure what will happen, leaving it to Europe to answer the same question that hovered over this continent, in the two great wars of the 20th century: how will they survive this conflict, if they are not able to provide for their own subsistence, being eternally hostage to imports from other countries, of all types of goods and merchandise consumed within the European community.

History is cyclical and repeats itself. Humanity did not learn much from the wars of the 20th century and its millions of dead and maimed people, amidst poverty, hunger and despair. Today, the nuclear capacity of countless countries is immense. It was very costly, after the Cold War, to bring peace back. But easy times breed weak man, that create difficult times again. The future will tell.


Article published in Revista Conhecimento & Cidadania Vol. IV No. 49 – December 2024 Edition - ISSN 2764-3867




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