Exploitation or Interdependence – on the cusp

23  February, 2015

The Editor, The Wellingtonian

Dear Editor;

Addressing the ISIS threat with military means when the only lasting solutions are political is a dangerous game to play.  How are people in New Zealand prepared to react?

In 2003 the Bush/Cheney government in the USA launched an attack on Iraq primarily to promote war as the primary means of conducting foreign policy.  Doing that in the Middle East was predictably incendiary.  For one thing disbanding the Iraqi army had the effect of releasing trained fighters to join rebel groups which have consequently morphed into ISIS.

As the situation heats up there are two very contrasting possible public reactions presenting themselves which usually are only on the fringes.   One is to observe how disastrous the invasion of Iraq was, and how predictable that outcome, and see that the time has come to make a fundamental change away from exploitation and violence.

The second is to react with panic to heightened fear favouring escalation of the same violent response that failed so miserably before.

The reason these two are coming to the fore is that the human species, including our own culture of course, is increasingly alert to threats in the form of nuclear weapons and climate change which fundamentally indict both our current exploitative consumer culture and the real politic of war.  The popularity of the current fog induced by the Prime Minister and the National government may not last.

Sincerely,

Richard Keller

published 27/01/2015