Bruce Kent reflects on Afghanistan

Bruce Kent - image ICN

Source: NJPN Blog

For over a week the plight of would be evacuees from Kabul has dominated the news. By grim coincidence the twentieth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, when so many were murdered in New York's Twin Towers, is fast approaching. But we're hearing no moral examination of why the USA and Britain took military action then, or how legitimate that was.

Apparently the killings in New York in 2001 were justification enough for military action. What has now happened in Afghanistan could not, it seems to me, illustrate more clearly the futility of war. The grief and anger felt by families who lost relations, both civilian and military, during the 20-year conflict - or of those who lost limbs or mental health as a consequence, must be overwhelming.

Yet one of the criteria for deciding whether a nation is embarking on a 'just war' is that there must be a reasonable chance of success: the establishment of lasting peace. Could we have predicted that?

It was Pope John XXIII who said 'it no longer makes sense to maintain that war is a fit instrument with which to repair the violation of justice'. (Pacem in Terris #127)

So how should we rethink our strategy, and what can we be doing now to avoid repetition of such disasters? The short answer is that we must work for the abolition of war as a response to conflict. This is not as naïve as it sounds. There are innumerable steps we could be taking.

The first is to fully endorse the authority of the United Nations - the one forum where all the world's citizens should have an equal voice. This will involve public education to press governments to accept some limits to their powers in order to tackle global problems - the climate crisis, pandemics, poverty - with global solutions.

Another will be for Britain to stop its immoral arms trade. This country is unscrupulous in selling military equipment to Israel and to Saudi Arabia, among other countries actively engaged in armed conflict, with terrible consequences for civilian populations. The Defence and Security Equipment international arms fair scheduled for London's Docklands in September should have been cancelled. Incidentally, the argument about jobs in arms companies being vital for Britain's economy does not apply: green industries are now the more lucrative and sustainable way to go.

The Movement for the Abolition of War is one of the organisations trying to reshape our response to conflict by joined-up thinking. Members will be on the streets of Glasgow during the COP26 climate conference in November with the message that military activity and the climate crisis are intertwined. War destroys the environment and disrupts livelihoods, causing refugees to flee - so does climate change - and climate change makes countries more vulnerable to conflict. Military emissions must be included in climate calculations.

But you do not have to go to Glasgow to make your voice heard.

For more information see: https://abolishwar.net/