September 21st is the International Day of Peace. While unknown to most people, the day is significant because of its noble intentions. I believe that a day so unspecific in its strategy as to be called the "Day of Peace" allows for people to ponder what peace might mean to them, and how they have experienced peace in their lives. Obviously the word "peace" has different meanings, and can oftentimes be warped and abused by those seeking power and control. But, this is where my original perception of the "Day of Peace" comes into play. There are so many definitions of peace and so many varying methods on how "peace" can be obtained that a definition is almost an irrelevant pursuit. For the individual on this day, peace must become a source of introspection on their lives, and how they have experienced "peace." For me, this means looking back at similar events in history and surveying my own lifetime to see different times of peace, and war, which, in my opinion, is oftentimes the opposite of peace.
One event in the last century strikes me as the most significant in the pursuit of peace, and the vanquishing of war. This gesture, passed in the years after WWI, under the most internationally ideological president we have ever had (Woodrow Wilson), was more symbolic than realistic, and like most of Wilson's foreign policies failed miserably. But, it is as symbolically relevant as the International Day of Peace is, and gives the world insight into not only the motivations and causes of WWI, but the reaction that the Western world had to war, death and peace.
In order to grasp such an event, some history needs to be recounted. WWI was considered to first mechanized, mass-scale war that included the likes of machine guns, tanks, flame throwers, biochemical weapons, airplanes and mass scale artillery. On one side was the German, Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian Empire, and on the other was the English, French, Russian and eventually American forces. Millions of soldiers were killed to gain insignificant amounts of land in the stalemate trench warfare across both the Eastern and Western fronts. After anti-war demonstrations, low industrial output and a massive loss of military gain, The 3 Axis Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary and the Ottomans) signed an armistice on November 11th, 1918.
The addition of American forces not only turned the tide of the war, but catapulted the US onto the world stage militarily. At Versailles, President Wilson declared that this "Great War" would be the "War to End all Wars." Like a lot of counterparts at home, he saw this war as the result of territory claims and imperialism that was characteristic of the "Old World." Entangling alliances from colonial powers like Russia, Britain, Germany, France and Austria-Hungary had turned a single assassination into a massive, bloody war that left millions dead. These anachronistic alliances and methods of government were too volatile and should be abandoned. But, in the eyes of Lloyd-George of Britain, Clemenceau of France and Orlando of Italy, the US was an upstart nation with no experience in international warfare. Wilson's 14 points, including transparency on international alliances, self determinations for all free nations, freedom of the seas, reduction of armaments, readjustment of borders, trade access and the creation of the League of Nations were idealistic, and fraught with good intention. Compromise destroyed most of the points, and only Wilson's 14th point, the creation of the League of Nations was passed unscathed. As a final blow, after Wilson was unwilling to compromise on US involvement in the League of Nations, a team of "Reservationist" Senators blocked the resolution, and it did not pass. Wilson suffered a stroke while campaigning for participation in the League of Nations, and his wife took presidential responsibility for the rest of his term.
What were the reactions and results of such a monumental failure on a policy that attempted to gain international peace? The concessions by Wilson in the 14 points allowed for the European powers to take colonial revenge on Germany by taking away all of its land claims and putting a monumental $300 billion war debt on their economy. The German economy tanked, and super-duper hyperinflation made the deutschemark useless. The US saw this is a return to the "Old World" of Imperialism, and movements towards isolationism thrived. A candidate, Warren G Harding called for a "Return to Normalcy" and to bolster what makes America great. But, the reactions were not all bad. The European powers in the League of Nations along with the US signed armament reduction treaties, like the 9 and 5 powers pacts, which reduced naval armaments by all participating nations. The US continued its policy of Dollar Diplomacy by injecting capital into the broken economies in Europe, hoping that the mony would return as investments into American companies. Unfortunately, most of these plans including the Dawes Plan to help Germany repay its war reparations only resulted in those nations using the money to pay off debt instead of investing in their economy. This, in part, was the reason for a global depression at the end of the 1920s.
But, what about peace? What was this monumental occurrence that happened after WWI? In 1928, Secretary of State Kellogg, and French foreign minister Briand helped usher in the signing of the Kellogg-Briand Pact. Signed by Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czechoslovakia, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Poland, South Africa, UK, US and 50 other countries by 1929, it had a lofty goal:
It Outlawed War.
Simple, and unattainable. But, its intentions were clear. None of the nations who signed the pact wanted to see mechanized slaughter, like they experienced in WWI. WWI had wiped out an entire generations of young men. Its ineffectiveness was highlighted in the decade following its signing, as Japan invaded Manchuria in 1931 and Hitler invaded Poland, Czechoslovakia and the Rhineland at the end of the 1930s, ushering in another World War that would cause the death of 50 million people.
WWI is a lesson in history for most people. There are only a few who can remember living through it, and only a hand-full who remember fighting through it. So, I want to take this space to think about the conflicts that have highlighted my 22.5 year life so far. This retrospective/analysis looks to answer 2 questions: How many civil unrests and wars have I experienced? How many peace accords/pacts in that same time period have been effective?
Wars/Unrest
1. Gulf War 1 (1991)
2. Somalia (1993)
3. Yugoslav Wars (1991)
4. Rwandan Genocide (1994)
5. Military Coup in Pakistan (1999)
6. Civil Wars in the Congo (1990s)
7. Yitzhak Rabin is assassinated (1995)
8. Taliban take Afghanistan (1996)
9. Bosnian ethnic cleansing (1992)
10. Operation Iraqi Freedom (2003)
11. War in Afghanistan (2001)
12. Sept 11th attacks on World Trade Center (2001)
13. 1st World Trade Center Bombing (1993)
14. Oklahoma City Bombing (1995)
15. LA Riots (1992)
16. War in Gaza (2008)
17. War in Lebanon (2007)
18. Violence in Iran following election (2009)
19. Han ethnic violence in China (2009)
20. Military Crackdown in Burma (2008)
21. Chinese crackdown in Tibet (2008)
Peace Accords/Treaties
1. Oslo Accords (1993)
2. Israeli-Jordanian Peace (1994)
3. German Reunification (1990)
4. Release of Nelson Mandela (1994)
5. Belfast Accords (1998)
6. Ethiopian Civil War Ends (1991)
I am sure there are more peace treaties and unrest/war events that I haven't covered. Looking at the peace accord list, the major events like the Oslo Accords between Rabin and Arafat were symbolic. It ensured continued peace talks, but with the assassination of Rabin and Arafat's terrorist ties and inability to govern the new Palestinian Authority, peace was never reached. The Middle East, especially the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has no discernible end in sight, as hard lined radicals are not willing to compromise. The Palestinian Authority is split between violent factions of Hamas and Fatah and West Bank settlements are still being built. And, many forces in the Middle East refuse to recognize Israel as a state and will only settle for its complete dissolution.
So, on this symbolic International Day of Peace, let's remember the atrocities and violence we experienced in our lives, and the peace attempts that are being made as I write. Progress towards peace can only be obtained by looking back at these situations and realizing the cause of the violence and war. Was our war in Vietnam justified because Communism would destroy the Western World? Were Weapons of Mass Destruction a convincing reason to invade Iraq? Is Afghanistan worth fighting for? Does America have any obligation to act on behalf of a nation in the cause of Democracy? These are questions we should be asking ourselves and our leaders. But more importantly, can we obtain a peaceful resolution to our international conflicts that is actually effective?
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