HOME

 

 

CONTACT

 

 

 

COMMENT

 

February 11th 2009

 

By Andrew Greig

 

In the news at the moment are the world economy and Gaza. Lagging a little behind at present – but not going to go away – is climate change. Where does Taming War fit in?

 

As to the economy, we all know how much the military is costing us. It’s around a 1000 billion dollars a year just for the military investment – and that leaves out all the costs of disruption and damage. Manufacturing weapons and employing soldiers can be a big stimulus to the economy – at first that is. There are probably a few politicians who would be quite happy to see some new wars to boost employment in their electorate.

 

Leaving aside the moral and humanitarian issues, moving to non-lethal warfare will generate a range of new industries and technologies. Conventional lethal weapons will be replaced by succeeding generations of non-lethal devices, providing ongoing employment.

 

Israel’s attack on Gaza seems to have ceased for the moment. As well, Hamas seems to have mostly stopped firing rockets into Israel.  Fortunately, the Hamas rockets have, so far, proved relatively non-lethal, although this is not to condone them.

 

Looking back on these events, the Israeli attack has been a vivid, if very unhappy, demonstration of the unsuitability of conventional lethal weapons in this conflict.  The destruction of property and the killing of civilians by high explosive shells did not stop the rocket attacks. They caused huge unnecessary grief and destruction. Their effect will significantly delay any sensible resolution of the issues between Israel and the inhabitants of Gaza.

 

Would there have been a different outcome if, hypothetically, Israel (and Hamas) had employed non-lethal weapons?

If Hamas had employed (deliberately designed!) non-lethal devices of some sort – say, noisy but harmless fireworks – they could have proved a point, but not goaded Israel into an attack.

 

In turn, if Israel had proceeded with an invasion using non-lethal weapons, it is possible that they might have managed to isolate the rocketeers. Successful or not, they would not have set up troubles for the future by killing and injuring any Palestinians.

 

16th Century

 

By William Shakespeare

 

“..tame the savage spirit of wild war, that, like a lion fostered up at hand, it may lie gently at the foot of peace..”  King John, Act V, Scene 2