Mustafa Qadri reflects on 25 April 2007:
...the Gallipoli invasion was a shining beacon of reckless, negligent planning by ill-informed civilian decision makers who had no direct involvement in the exercise of the military excursion.
Does this sound familiar? It should. On 19 March 2003, the United States, with limited support from a few other nations, invaded the sovereign nation of Iraq. The key reason given was that Iraq, under Saddam Hussein, was a security risk to the world. US civilian decision makers hoped a successful invasion of Iraq would act as a catalyst for change throughout the Middle East. Whether this change would be in the form of the creation of ‘Western-style’ democracies or simply just pro-Western regimes is a whole other matter. Regardless, the Iraq invasion has cost the lives of several thousands. A respected Lancet study puts the figure of Iraqi deaths alone at around 650,000.
3 Comments:
I thought Turkey had allied itself with Germany?
And that there had been a declaration of war between Britain and Germany & its allies, which included Turkey?
Thus making open invasion of Turkey within the remit of British Allied Forces?
That was precisely the problem with the First World War - everyone (ie the elites) felt that it was their rightful obligation to declare war on each due to their alliances. So a snowball in Serbia turned into one gigantic slaughter. But arguably for very little.
I've been reading a bit about Turkey's entry into the war and a few historians seem to be saying that Turkey's decision to side with Germany was something of an 11th hour decision.
I just find it strange that we say 'lest we forget' on Anzac Day yet we don't analyse and effectively forgotten how and why Gallipoli and WWI started. You'd think we'd learn how not to repeat it. Instead I think Anzac day now is just about blind obedience in times of war.
And 'lest we forget' what was happening on the other side of the country, at the same time - the Armenian genocide
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