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Postcards from the Edge

By Jon Blyth

COME AGAIN?

Had one of those odd moments recently. You know, the ones referred to as "synchronicity" that begin to bother me more as time goes on.

There I was, curled up on the couch reading about the socio-political origins of the Crusades (I tell you, never a dull moment in our house), when my attention was caught by the TV. There, large as life, was the most important voice in the Western World calling for action in the Middle East. Dang me if those uppity "camel-jockeys" aren't getting above themselves again and threatening the peace of the Free World. Let's get together all the military might that's hanging around doing nothing and send it out to have a crack at a second-rate bunch of desert-dwellers. Crusading or what?

Now, I don't intend to use our mag as a political forum. What actually started to roll around in my mind was the repetitive nature of warfare though history.

As we currently wait for the start of "Desert Storm II - This Time It's Personal" (a CNN production), we've only just finished winning another war in Afghanistan.

Well, we did, didn't we? It's not in the news anymore so I guess we declared a win by default. Those pesky Afghans just legged it into the mountains and wouldn't come out to fight proper battles. Ring any bells out there? It was technically the 4th Afghan War, the previous ones in 1840, 1880 and 1919 turning out much the same way.

If you ignore the obvious WWI/WWII repeat, you will still find many examples of the 'Ere We Go Again mentality cropping up in the history books.

So, on the subject of books - I'm looking to run one on what the next major bust-up (after the next one, if you see what I mean) will turn out to be.

I'm offering odds of:

  • 1 - 2 Britain getting involved in an India/Pakistan boundary dispute.
  • Evens America stepping in to help out during a county's North/South meltdown in the Far East.
  • 5 - 4 A Western alliance setting up operations in China and trying to run the country.
  • 2 - 1 Any tin pot force invading a tiny piece of land in the middle of the sea and claiming it back from a ridiculously superior enemy.
  • 5 - 1 Russia expanding its territory by swallowing up a few of those dinky states next door, and provoking an international crisis as a result.
  • 10 - 1 America invading Cuba (this doesn't include tourists or cigar-smugglers).
  • 20 - 1 Any county in Europe conquering everybody nearby before stopping at the English Channel and deciding to invade Russia instead.
  • 100 -1 Hordes of nomads sweeping out of the Eastern Steppes as far as the Danube.
  • 1000 - 1 Britain adding any country to its Empire.
    (Well, it's a bloody sight less likely than the nomads!).