Increasing Warfare

On September 17-18, pagers and walkie-talkies exploded simultaneously in Lebanon, killing several and injuring over 3000. Investigators are saying that these pagers and walkie-talkies had been implanted with tiny explosives that had then been triggered remotely. Among those killed were members of Iran backed militant group Hezbollah. Fingers were pointed to Israel which kept its silence amid growing rumours of an all-out war. 

In an age of smartphones and increasingly advanced smart devices, use of pagers and walkie-talkies was a strategic ploy by the Hezbollah to avoid detection from the Israeli intelligence. It so happened that the ploy backfired costing lives and inflicting injuries. It shows how harsh strategies continue to be employed in warfare. And the September attack could be straight out of a 1980s action movie only it happened in real time, shocking the entire world. Now, tensions are mounting in the Middle East while in Europe, Ukraine and Russia are still locking heads in a war that is on its second year.

Use of technology in war isn’t a new concept but an age old one. Nations prefer remaining sovereign as it means independence, freedom and autonomy, which is why when they get spooked every time there is a threat to their territories. Just as humans are territorial so are nations which are of course a man-made concept. Here one has to add that even animals are territorial and are known to mark their space. But animals don’t cause large scale war or destroy the world peace. They simply exist in an ecosystem that they help keep in balance unlike the highly intelligent human beings. 

Technologies were developed to ease human life but it has also been used to disrupt it. Lives are lost and properties are destroyed when high-tech falls on the wrong hands. And if they can’t work with new tech, warmongers resort to low-tech. Either way, it is technology that gets used to cause harm. Innovators, scientists and technicians are likely wringing their hands in desperation because their lives’ works are implemented in wars. 

Human mind is very inventive. Look at the airplanes on the skies, cars and jeeps on roads, ships on sea and railroads across rugged mountains. Humans have achieved a lot when it comes to science and technology but oftentimes they have come at a huge cost, as seen during the two World Wars. Today they are being used to fire missiles, bomb hospitals and educational institutes and even playgrounds. It seems in war the involved parties will go to lengths when it comes to destroying one another. Where is humanity during war when children are orphaned and left desolate? Where are love, compassion and empathy when the other party is utterly demolished? It can make one wonder about the relentlessness of influential people in power.

In Gaza, it will take decades to rebuild the places destroyed by war. While damaged properties can be restored, lives that were lost cannot. In the name of nationality, sovereignty or even the greater good, wars continue to erupt and escalate. The very few powerful people in high positions determine the course of the nation by waging wars in assurance of a better society to their people which is ironical because it is anything but a progress.