As I See It Up until now I have restrained from writing regarding the Gaza conflict but Im now wading in. Perspective is always very important in all of the worlds conflicts. By making the following observations I am not in anyway downplaying or minimalising the suffering of the innocent or the tragedy of conflicts. Firstly, a brief look at Iraq and Afghanistan - Military casualties During the Iraq War, 4,475 U.S. service members were killed and 32,220 were wounded; in Afghanistan, 2,165 have been killed and 18,230 wounded through Feb. 5, 2013. Among service members deployed in these conflicts, 103,792 were diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) over the period 2002 to December 2012. Over that same period, 253,330 service members were diagnosed with a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) of some kind. As a result of battle injuries in the Iraq War, 991 service members received wounds that required amputations; 797 lost major limbs, such as a leg. In Afghanistan, 724 have had to undergo amputations, with 696 losing a major limb. Next - overall casualties The Brown University project estimated that together, all countries involved have lost a total of 31,000 uniformed service members and military contractors. In addition, the researchers estimated in 2011 that between 152,280 and 192,550 civilians in Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan have died as a “result of the fighting at the hands of all parties.” In March 2013, the Brown researchers revised the civilian total estimate to 200,000; and they estimated that 330,000 people had been killed overall as a result of the conflicts, accounting for all soldiers, militants, police, contractors, journalists, humanitarian workers and civilians involved Next - the cost A March 2013 paper from Harvard Kennedy School budget expert Linda Bilmes estimates that the total costs for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars may run as high as $6 trillion, depending on how long-term macroeconomic factors play out. Further, “the legacy of decisions made during the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts will impose significant long-term costs on the federal government, and in particular, on the consolidated national security budget.” The Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments notes that the 2012 defense budget included $118 billion in requests to support operations in the current conflicts; the Center also notes that, as of 2012, $813 billion had been spent on Iraq and $445 billion on Afghanistan. The New York Times estimated that the United States spent $3.3 trillion in the decade after the 9/11 attacks; this figure included not only military operations and future veterans care, but also the economic fallout from the terrorist attacks and associated homeland security costs. A Congressional Budget Office report estimates that by 2020 the price of treating Iraq and Afghanistan veterans alone could be more than $8 billion annually. Now whilst the outcry is great over the Gaza conflict and we pray for a speedy resolution, many seem to have a very short memory regarding the suffering innocent. I understand that Israel is, to many, the Holy of Holies, but the current conflict is relatively small compared to the enormous loss of life in the conflicts listed above and below. So when you are thinking of who to condemn or root for remember that in the sight of God EVERY human life is equal regardless of race or stature in the Kingdom. I could go on to discuss Somalia, Rwanda or the Congo or Sudan or all the other horrifying sufferings being experienced by the innocent at the hands of military conflicts along with civil wars. Current conflicts- Africa Hot Spots: Central African Republic (civil war), Democrati Republic of Congo (war against rebel groups), Egypt (popular uprising against Government), Mali (war against tuareg and islamist militants), Nigeria (war against islamist militants), Somalia (war against islamist militants), Sudan (war against rebel groups), South Sudan (civil war) Asia Hot Spots: Afghanistan (war against islamist militants), Burma-Myanmar (war against rebel groups), Pakistan (war against islamist militants), Philippines (war against islamist militants), Thailand (coup d’etat by army May 2014) Europe Hot Spots: Chechnya (war against islamist militants), Dagestan (war against islamist militants), Ukraine (Secession of self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic and self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic) Middle East Hot Spots: Iraq (war against islamist militants), Israel (war against islamist militants in Gaza Strip), Syria (civil war), Yemen (war against and between islamist militants) Americas Hot Spots: Colombia (war against rebel groups), Mexico (war against narcotraffic groups) There will be wars and rumours of wars. - Jesus Perspective people, perspective.
Posted on: Fri, 18 Jul 2014 23:50:58 +0000
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