Dickson Igwe, Resident Socio-Political Commentator
There is something perverse in the human soul that admires bullies and tyrants. In Africa the cult of the big man or bully has led to decades of poverty, suffering, and death.
Those who admire tyranny simply have zero understanding of the long term consequences of tyranny, and fail to appreciate history. Tyranny may be the oldest form of government. However, reigning back the historically new found ideas of freedom and democracy to appease strongmen is a recipe for conflict, war, and suffering.
The appeasement of Hitler in 1939 led directly to the Holocaust and the massacre of 6 million Jews. Had the west acted aggressively and decisively when Hitler’s armies invaded European territories instead of ‘’shivering in fear’’ at the heel of a Nazi Strongman, the War may have ended sooner’ with the saving of millions of lives.
Once again the world is witnessing the result of the actions of a tyrant and bully. However, this time the west has the armor of history to refer to.
The only solution to bullies is military deterrence.
The classroom bully is frequently scared of the strong but silent student who is unafraid of his shenanigans.
The bullying man or woman is frequently abusive and ignorant, until a no nonsense type places a sign post with a barrier that states: ‘’ enough is enough.’’
Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Harry Truman had no qualms about dropping two atom bombs on Japan after the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1944.
Then with Lend Lease, Roosevelt committed US resources to arming the Russians on the eastern flank, and then shortly after that came the attack from the northern Atlantic in the west, and the sacking of North African Nazi Forces by Montgomery to the South.
The Western Alliance then marched into Italy in support of allied armies to the east and west.
Those three military efforts placed a steel belt around Adolf Hitler that eventually crushed Nazi Germany, leading to the suicide of the Mad Man. The end of Nazi German saw the establishment of a Global Order that in spite of the Cold War kept the planet relatively stable for 70 years.
Today, with the invasion of the Ukraine by Vladimir Putin, the world is back where it was in 1939 where raw military power prevails over decency, freedom and democracy. In fact, this moment is more dangerous than 1939, in that today’s actors possess nuclear weapons and frightening military technologies that make what Hitler and the AXIS Powers, and the military hardware the western allies possessed in the 1940s, pale by comparison.
The west is going to have to fight a long Cold War with Russia using mostly conventional military tools to deter aggression. Nuclear confrontation between Russia and NATO is inconceivable as the result will be Armageddon and the end of humanity as we know it today.
The world has suddenly become much more dangerous and the western alliance will have to retool its military to fight a Cold War that may well hearken back to the proxy type conflagrations between Russia and the USA in various corners of the world with China allying itself with Russia.
The lesson of history is to be prepared for the tyrant.
And the best way is to remain strong, prepared, and resolute.
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Dickson Igwe is an education official in the Virgin Islands. He is also a national sea safety instructor. He writes a national column across media and has authored a story book on the Caribbean: 'The Adventures of a West Indian Villager'. Dickson is focused on economics articles, and he believes economics holds the answer to the full economic and social development of the Caribbean. He is of both West African and Caribbean heritage. Dickson is married with one son.
