American Politics Journal

An Outsider Looking In
Phoney War
By Chris Gelken

Sept. 27, 2001 -- HONG KONG (APJP) -- I suppose the anticipation, followed by the waiting and then the anticlimax of inaction, was very frustrating to many Europeans after the dramatic September 1939 declaration of war against Hitler's Germany. Sure, there was a lot of military mobilisation, and no shortage of usable sound bites from politicians and pundits. But there was no real action.

Plenty of rumours of spies and the occasional report of planes shot down over the English Channel. Hardly enough to set one's pulse racing... especially if you are in the news business. They called it the "Phoney War". But all that changed in the summer of 1940. And for five years there was more news than there was available column inches or broadcast airtime.

In the winter of 1939 and spring of 1940, the public were hungry for news of the "war". By 1945, they would explore every possible diversion to escape from it.

These days it would be hard to find anyone who didn't believe that the war against Hitler's Germany and Hirohito's Japan was a just "crusade" against evil. It would be equally difficult to find anyone who would not express their sorrow and anguish at the human cost - but who would still say that it was worth it, when the prize was a world in which everyone could live in freedom. Free from fear, free from hunger, free from persecution.... And on the day that the great victory was declared, free to go to the school of their choice without the need for a protective cordon of National Guardsmen.

Since we all know that that didn't happen, are we to assume that every soldier, sailor and airman who gave their life - gave it in vain?

Okay, sure, for some of us the battle that was won in 1945 ensured freedom and prosperity - at least for those of us lucky enough to be born on the side of the Iron Curtain that wasn't traded to Stalin as a payoff for his counry's contribution to the great "freedom". But when you count the numbers of dead in wars that have been fought since 1945, the hard won freedom and prosperity was quite obviously unequally divided. And if you accept that the hands of the "victors" of 1945 were directly or indirectly - but so frequently stained by the blood spilled in those wars, you will appreciate that the freedoms were unjustly divided.

And now we have our new Phoney War. Almost two weeks since September 11 and George Bush's declaration that we have entered the "first world war of the 21st century". That there will be a shooting war is a foregone conclusion. How far will it spread? How many lives it will take....? And who will declare it over? Who will declare that the world is a safer place for everyone to live? And who will ensure that the lives that will be lost in the coming days, months or years will not be in vain?

Who will ensure that the injustices of the Armistice that ended the 1914-18 war will not be repeated?

Who will ensure that the governments of nations will dispense their domestic and foreign policy in a way that will not favour one political faction, ethnic group or religion over another? And who will ensure that the powerful nations will conduct their foreign policy fairly - rather than hiding under the excuse of "vested national interests"?

I propose a forum of nations where every state is considered equal. A place where issues can be discussed and resolved without the need to go to war - or feel one's only opportunity to be heard is to commit an act of terrorism. As a working title, we could call it the United Nations. But it would need to be independent in a way that would allow the smallest nation with a grievance to face off with the biggest nation on equal terms - with the rest of the world acting as impartial referee - with their decision final and binding. No one country, or group of countries being allowed to dominate, regardless of their size, wealth or power. Who knows, it might work.

The war against terrorism won't be won by killing everyone who is a terrorist today. It will be won by making damn sure that the conditions that breed terrorists won't be allowed to occur in the future.

And that, people, ain't going to happen. You know it.

Heck, we've effectively just declared perpetual war on ourselves. Ain't nothing more phoney than that.