Military historian Martin van Creveld is always
interesting and usually right. Recently, he hit one out of the park.
On March 16, 2017 he addressed a post to our
New President detailing the failures of the powers to order the world. We
quote:
"1944-1948. A few hundred active “terrorists” hound the British out of Palestine, leading to the establishment of the State of Israel.1946-1954. French troops are defeated in Indochina, leading to Vietnamese, Cambodian, and Laotian independence.1948-1960. British troops fail to hold Malaya and end up by withdrawing from the country. Thanks to a masterpiece of propaganda, the Brits make most of the world believe that they had actually won the war. But this does not prevent Malaysia from becoming independent state. 1950-1953, Western forces, operating under UN auspices, wage against North Korea and China. The outcome, stalemate, is probably the best that could have been achieved. 1953-1960. British troops fail to defeat the Mau Mau Revolt in Kenya, ending up by withdrawing from the country, which gained its independence. 1954-1962. The War in Algeria, which had been a French colony for well over a century, ends with a humiliating defeat for France. 1955-1960. An insurgency forces the British to give up Cyprus, which becomes an independent country. 1963-1967. Another insurgency forces the British to surrender Aden. Ditto. 1965-1972. The Second Vietnam War, which was the largest of them by far, ends with the decisive defeat of the US and its allies and their final withdrawal. 1970-1975. As part of the Second Vietnam War, the US invaded Cambodia. In 1975 it had to throw in the towel. With the US cowed and decolonization all but complete, major Western attempts to intervene in the developing world came to a halt. 1982-1984. A small continent of US troops enters Lebanon, but quickly leaves again after terrorists start blowing them up. 1991-1992. The US and its allies, provoked by Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait, go to war. In almost seventy years, this is the only campaign that resulted in a clear victory. As a result, President George Bush declares that the US “has overcome the Vietnam Syndrome.”1993. The US and its allies send troops into Somalia. To absolutely no avail, except for turning that country into an even worse hell than it already was.2002-present. To avenge 9-11, the US and its allies invade Afghanistan. The resulting mess is still waiting to be cleared up. 2003-present. The US and its allies invade Iraq. Saddam Hussein is overthrown and, ultimately, killed. However, once again the outcome is a mess that has still not been resolved. 2005-present. French and British forces, initially supported by US cruise missiles, assist local militias in overthrowing Dictator Muammar Gadhafi. The outcome is the same as in Iraq. 2011-present. Small NATO contingents take part in Syria’s murderous civil war, but achieve practically nothing. Thanks in part to Russian aid, the side whom the US and its allies oppose, i.e. President Assad, seems to be gaining the upper hand. Are you listening, President Trump?"
Sadly, It appears that the man who campaigned on
getting along with Russia and trying to dial back the world cop is probably
not.
Martin van Creveld may not be a neutralist, but
he has written an excellent neutralist column
