Hebraic Musing – Similarities? WWI, WWII & Radical Islamic Terrorism
What can we
learn from history? My conscience will
not let me hold off releasing this non-amusing musing any longer; it is based
on these historical recaps of World Wars, and a little history reminder!
WWI
involvement: The “War
to End All Wars” started in 1914, became a global war centered in Europe
and grew into a war involving 32 countries. The “Allies”
represented about 20 countries; Britain, France, Russia, Italy and the United
States being the largest. The “Allies” fought the “Central Powers” – Germany,
Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria. About 20 countries claimed to be
neutral, but the ravages of war impacted them also. It was one of the
deadliest conflicts in history. Objective
of WWI: Conflicting ambitions, retribution and
recovery of land lost in a previous war.
Tactics &
weapons: It was trench warfare;
commonly used weapons were bolt action rifles, grenades, poison gas, machine
guns, flame-throwers, tanks and some submarines. After WWI: The League of Nations
was established at the initiative of the Allies at the Paris Peace Conference
of 1919 as a part of the Treaty of Versailles. But the war resulted in major
political changes and revolutions in many nations. The losers lost territory, were dismantled or
ceased to exist.
….but only 25 years later….
WWII involvement: “Axis Powers”, Germany, Italy & Japan co-signed
the Tripartite Treaty, joined by Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania & Slovakia.
They annexed Austria, Ethiopia and China. “Allied
Powers” were Australia, Brazil, Canada, Newfoundland, New Zealand, South
Africa, UK & Soviet Union; eventually
in Dec. 1941 the United States was forced to engage. Were we caught in Normalcy Bias? Are we experiencing “Normalcy
Bias” today? (Defined below) What think you? Objective
of WWII: The “Axis Powers” wanted
to take-over governance of major segments of the world map; a traditional theme
of World Wars is creation of a One World Government! Tactics & weapons: Air warfare, fighters & bombers, naval
ships & rockets overcame the ground warfare stalemate; support from spy &
intelligence networks; intro of nuclear bombs.
After WWII: Countries that were attacked,
occupied, or switched sides were countries that had declared their neutrality
before being assaulted. Can you be neutral in a world war? Treaties were signed, but the “Cold War” between
Russia and the USA continued on smaller footprints.
Then 9/11/2001 came 55 years later…from another ideological
direction….
R-dical
Isl-mic T-rrorism (RIT) involvement: The Islamic nations of Saudi Arabia, Yemen,
Brunei, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Sudan
and Mauritania apply Sharia law. It is reported
that Christians are being persecuted in 50 nations, not to mention the daily
reports of persecution growing in major European nations and Canada and the
USA! Objective of RIT: The
goal, as radical followers Islam, is to take over all nations and enforce
Islamic rule, including Sharia law using the Koran as the constitution. Tactics & weapons: Physical & highly visible
weapons of choice are knives, automatic weapons, rockets, bombs and vehicles, readily
available items. Infiltration of the
enemy nation’s education, government, military and media systems are “softening
the beaches”; while overt tactics range from sophisticated well-planned
attacks, to home-grown amateur efforts; all designed to kill, maim & cause
disruption & fear. Kidnappings, mass
transit violence, well-publicized beheadings and an ISIS land-grab add
emotional fear-mongering. Religious fervor and horrific publicity aids
grass-root recruiting resulting in world-wide infiltration.
(If)
After RIT completes its mission: All nations and peoples will convert
to Islam and be subject to Sharia law or be put to death. Here’s a quote from an ISIS fighter in new
beheading video “Know also that we will
cut off your head in the White House, and transform America into a Muslim
Province.”
What lessons have we learned from the first
two “World Wars”? Were we late getting
involved? Would there have been fewer
losses if we had responded sooner? What did Jesus say about wars? “You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it
that you are not alarmed. Such things
must happen, but the end is still to come.” Matt. 24:6 NIV
Points to ponder
Will the “Allied” forces,
good guys, always win World Wars?
“For in the days
before the flood, people were eating and drinking…” Matt.24:38
NIV
Yosef a.k.a. Joe
Brusherd Published February 3, 2015; Updated October 6,
2020
Author: “Hebraic Insights – Messages exploring the
Hebrew roots of our faith”
“Biblical Marriage (by Yosef)” Weekly “Hebraic Musings”
Normalcy bias - is a mental state
people enter when facing a disaster. It causes people to underestimate both the
possibility of a disaster and its possible effects. This may result in
situations where people fail to adequately prepare for a disaster, and on a
larger scale, the failure of governments to include the populace in its disaster
preparations. The assumption that is
made in the case of the normalcy bias is that since a disaster never has
occurred then it never will occur. It can result in the inability of people to
cope with a disaster once it occurs. People with a normalcy bias have
difficulties reacting to something they have not experienced before. People
also tend to interpret warnings in the most optimistic way possible, seizing on
any ambiguities to infer a less serious situation.[i]
One
of the most tragic examples of the normalcy bias is the experience of the Jews
in Nazi Germany.[ii] Barton Biggs, in his book, Wealth, War and
Wisdom, gave a very good description of what happened:
By the end
of 1935, 100,000 Jews had left Germany, but 450,000 [remained]. Wealthy Jewish
families...kept thinking and hoping that the worst was over.
Many of the
German Jews, brilliant, cultured, and cosmopolitan as they were, were too
complacent. They had been in Germany so long and were so well established, they
simply couldn't believe there was going to be a crisis that would endanger
them. They were too comfortable. They believed the Nazis' anti-Semitism was an
episodic event and that Hitler's bark was worse than his bite. [They] reacted
sluggishly to the rise of Hitler for completely understandable but tragically
erroneous reasons. Events moved much faster than they could imagine.
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