In spite of all the talk of fairness in international politics, might is very much right , as we shall see shortly.
The old jungle law prevails; the only difference being in the modus operandi. .
In any war between two countries, the citizens of one country blame the other and brand it as aggressor. The intransigent and hawkish leaders who normally precipitate such conflicts (to offset the failure of their governments or to divert public attention from their poor handling of the economy and corruption) normally orchestrate the same for favorable opinions and make the nation stand solidly behind them. The motivation can also spring from a despicable urge to gain popularity by exploiting people’s religious, racial and cultural sentiments. Nevertheless, in every case defending the motherland becomes the war cry and driven by a collective urge of patriotic emotions, the masses rally behind the rulers to punish the villain, the aggressor state. They never bother whether the hostilities are just or unjust.
Americans rejoice when it ‘teaches’ Iran, Iraq or Afghanistan a lesson or two. But the Iraqis and Iranians and the millions of Arabs around the world detest the military strike or punitive action and deride America.
The aggressions of the former USSR were considered necessary and good by the Russians of that time. The majority of the then population accepted the conquest of Afghanistan and the
earlier incursions into eastern Europe. The Chinese annexation of Tibet is not questioned by the Chinese nationals. In 1971, in the Indo-Pak war, India helped liberate Bangladesh and the popularity of the then PM, Mrs., Gandhi rose up sky-high in the country and hardly anyone debated the necessity of such a war which ravished India’s economy.
USA has militarily defeated Afghanistan, and Iraq . A little before, under the leadership of the United States, a world army was formed to crush Iraq and free Kuwait. But the same USA kept quite when the USSR conquered Afghanistan much earlier. Where was this champion of democracy when the Red Army had, much before, crushed the defenses of the East Europeans
nations and established their puppet regimes?
For flimsy reasons the US turned its full force blast tiny nations like Granada and Panama and easily knocked them down. They were handy targets for the then US presidents to boost their sagging morals and restore the lost prestige and national ego.
Iran and Syria, perhaps the biggest sponsors of terrorism and responsible for many of the atrocities against the Americans go unpunished. The Iranian’s blatant breach of international law did not bring about a proportional retribution so far. But it has already ‘taught lessons’ a number of countries which suited it well which worked their magic as intended by the politicians at the helm.