‘The terrible effects and disastrous consequences of war. But we keep doing it’, Pearls & Irritations, 3 September 2021
Many of the world’s 190 or so nation states have been involved in conflict. But few small- or medium-sized powers would match Australia’s habit of fighting in countries half a world away about which they were ill informed and which could never pose any threat to the homeland …
The celebration of Anzac Day and the attendant rhetoric about its profound significance in creating the nation also helps us diagnose Australia’s propensity for military adventurism. The Gallipoli campaign was after all an operation over which Australia had no say, fought for strategic objectives which they knew very little about, against an enemy unknown to them …
The conclusion which is unavoidable is that while Australian governments find it easy to go to war they are intensely reluctant to accept moral responsibility for the immediate and long term consequences.
The piece is provoked by the end of the war in Afghanistan, of which more here. Henry Reynolds has written widely on war and Australia. Use our Search engine.
