Cold War warriors on the rise again

columnist

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When the Cold War ended in 1989 with a slew of arms limiting agreements these people in the Blob were effectively unemployed, fortunately for them, the “Islamic Threat” and the “War on Terror” came along.

When the Cold War ended in 1989 with a slew of arms limiting agreements these people in the Blob were effectively unemployed. Fortunately for them, the “Islamic Threat” and the “War on Terror” came along, which worked to renew their contracts. Nevermind that few knew anything about Islam, its history or its doctrines, they raced ahead, contorting themselves with facts and opinions they had difficulty grasping. It all got knotted up with the personalities and actions of Al Qaeda’s Osama bin Laden and Iraq’s mercurial president, Saddam Hussein and the private wars they were fighting against Western interests. Indeed, bin Laden did score an almost knockout blow when his henchman hijacked passenger planes and flew them into New York’s Twin Towers. He justified it by referring to the Quran. An overwhelming majority of Muslims around the world were aghast. But many westerners insisted on tracing bin Laden’s activities to Mohammed’s teaching.

But Americans - and the British too, who have fought more wars than any other country in the world- appear to need an enemy. (But not the Germans, who have had enough of war.) The benign atmosphere of the first few post-Cold War years gradually dissipated. Inevitably, there were irritants and the West’s response was often over the top. Russia and its policing, security apparatus and the courts had not been trained to respect human rights, so abuses were inevitable. Under President Boris Yeltsin the economy nose-dived. He sold off state assets at bargain prices to oligarchs who in turn pledged him support, using their recently acquired media outlets, and financing his electoral campaign. Yet his fervent pro-Americanism seemed to excuse him these excesses and the US intervened clandestinely in the 1996 election to make sure he won.

Cold War warriors on the rise again

What you need to know:

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