THE WAR TO END ALL WARS

For those so young who never beat the clock

The eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, 1918.

When the guns fell silent, and WW1 would be known as the war to end all wars.

Well, after the bloody slaughter of all sides in horrendous conditions, where young lions were led by older donkeys, and lovely moments like the Christmas truce allowed both sides to meet and greet, and view one another as exactly the same, put in a position by failed politics and diplomacy…it would happen all over again in what we now call WW2.

Many many conflicts later, and I personally would find myself as a soldier and civilian in almost 40 years worth of them around the world…we today witness 24/7 coverage of a conflict in the Middle East on our screens between Israel and Palestine…all over again.

Religion is and has been a part to be played in many conflicts around the world. But it’s not the only reason. Tied in is most definitely greed and power, every single time.

But if there’s only one God, then how is it that my God is better than your God?

We…not God are in control of our own destiny, unless we’re still a baby or child, as they are the only truly innocents in this world.

The sad thing is, as my head and my heart is firmly in remembering not only my past conflicts, but the one’s before me, and the ones since, and the one’s around the world right now. I know for sure that there will still be many more in the future, because of that greed and power.

It’s not just the dead that I’m remembering. It’s also those who are still alive and wish that they were dead. It’s those left homeless living rough on the streets. It’s those who cannot sleep at night. It’s those who are no longer in control of their own feelings and lash out at those who love them. It’s those who no longer know who they are. Who’s here for them…who’s really here for them…at this time of remembrance?

Those who fought and died in both world wars did so, so that we could live free.

Part of our freedom is to allow all to enjoy what we do…no matter what “club” we belong to.

With the dreadful conflict taking part in the middle east, with the latest and arguably the most bloody for decades between Israel and Palestine, we have all seen the fall out on our streets between those few who have embedded themselves with those who have chosen a side for the sake of peace. All over the Middle East to the UK, Europe and here in the US. Even some students in college grounds are turning to hatred of one another, while the majority of both sides are marching or staging static rallies peacefully.

I turn 69 in a few days. I’ve seen a lot in my life. I’ve even seen a lot from both sides in the Israel Palestine conflicts as a civilian onlooker news gathering for 18 months during the Second Intifada. When I was a soldier before that, I would always speak with my enemies. In the first Gulf war inside Western Iraq, I spoke with those who we had captured. They showed me photos of their families, their wives and children. Yes, we in the middle of politics, and failed diplomacy, meeting after a “punch up” having been put on the ground for greed and power of others. I remember shaking their hands, leaving them in the Western desert a few hundred yards from their military location, giving them a bucket of clean drinking water and some of our own rations, and telling them (in my bad Arabic) to sit there until 10pm…after that they can do what they need to do. We then moved on in our pinkies into the darkness of the night, and carried on with the war.

In the last 23 years, under US “leadership” a handful of countries have had their lids firmly blown off by the coalition of the willing. Countries that are fractured due mainly to the lines drawn in the sand by the French and British a hundred years ago now. Without even understanding the tribes living there. That allowed for greed and power, greed and power. However their autocratic and sometimes bloody ruling helped to keep the lid on their fractured country. Run for decades by family dynasties who have no intention of giving their people any democratic rights. But by the US taking them on, the lid came off, and the rats came running out…hence the birth of AQ and ISIS. Even we as nations that took part have suffered for that at home. And I’m sure that with the US and UK governments both taking a one sided view of this latest catastrophe, we’ll carry on suffering from time to time at home too.

However, tomorrow is a special day for everyone. It’s a day of remaining humble. It’s a day of showing respect. It’s a day for peace. It’s a day of embracing our old enemies. Just look at the British and German soldiers after the Great War…many became friends for life, even if it was just pen friends for most.

Tomorrow as we all know is that moment at 11.11.11 when we all take time to remain silent, and reflect with dignity in our own manner for all those young men and women who gave all for our freedoms.

I would love to see, given that the Free Palestine supporters are demonstrating on the streets of London and no doubt other venues around the country, that at 11am…they ALL come to a halt, show their own dignity and respect, and remember ALL in time of conflict. Remembering that there are many Jewish activists that have joined together with the Free Palestine movement.

At 11am, both the Palestinian civilians, and the Israeli civilians including the civilian hostages, and especially all of their innocent children, will be in my mind along with those who I always think of year on year at this time.

Let the world see that we are all better as people, than those who govern us, either through their absolute bigotry, or what they can gain by taking a side.

Here’s to 11.11.11…please, please keep it precious.