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Anis
Albasha
In his famous poem
"Fire and Ice" American poet Robert Frost spoke about the end
of the world and whether it would be with fire or ice. In his poem, the poet
inclined towards those who believed that the destruction of humanity would be
with fire.
The recent events
the world is witnessing seem to be moving towards realizing what the poet
predicted in his poem, published almost a hundred years ago!
Since the beginning
of the war that erupted between Russia on the one hand and Ukraine on the
apparent side, and NATO behind the facade, in February last year, events have
been moving at an accelerating pace, leading many to pessimistic scenarios, including the
nuclear one.
The past few weeks
have witnessed rapid events, such as the US providing Ukraine with "quality" weapons,
Britain announcing its intention to deliver uranium-depleted shells to Ukraine,
and shipments of modern tanks to Ukraine led by German Leopard tanks.
In response, Russia announced the
deployment of "tactical" nuclear weapons in Belarus. A few days ago,
there were also tense confrontations between America and China, represented in
the establishment of new American military bases in the Philippines, Taiwan,
and South Korea. The tension peaked when an American destroyer tried to
penetrate Chinese territorial waters a few days ago, prompting the Chinese
Ministry of Defense to move it away and issue an official statement condemning
these American ‘provocations’
In light of these
developments, talking about the use of nuclear weapons is no longer an
exaggeration or speculation. Rather, the basic question regarding this point
has changed from "can it happen?" to "when will it
happen?". The whole world has begun to hold its breath with trepidation of the
moment when one of the leaders decides to press the ‘button’.
The recent
statement made by the former US President Donald Trump was an explicit
expression of this concern when he said ‘that Americans need to pray after
Russian President Vladimir Putin's decision to deploy nuclear weapons in
Belarus!’
Days before Trump's
statements, the Serbian president also expressed his fears frankly when he
warned that the world was approaching a third world war. The Serbian president added
that there was no end to the madness that was happening, which resembles the
situations during the first and second world wars!
Unfortunately, with
the passage of time, events are tending towards further escalation. Since the
beginning of the confrontation with Russia, the United States has always been
keen to emphasize that it would not provide Ukraine with long-range missiles,
in order to avoid direct confrontation with Russia. However, the US position
has changed now. Some Russian reports confirm that Ukraine has obtained quality
missiles from the US, as well as other advanced weapons such as F-16 aircraft. Such
measures have broken all the rules of engagement that have been agreed upon
since the end of the World War II.
We should also not
forget the other war that China and Russia are waging to reduce the dominance of
the US dollar. This is a very serious and escalable issue. The United States
certainly will not allow this to happen and to lose its most powerful weapon of
sovereignty!
On the domestic
front in Western countries that have long known peace and stability, things are
not less tense. There is a wave of protests and demonstrations taking place in
some European cities and capitals for various reasons such as inflation, high
prices, decreased purchasing power, and problems in employment, health, and
retirement sectors. Most of these issues are repercussions of the current war
and conflict between Russia and the West.
All of these indicators point towards escalation and predict further deterioration and reckless rush towards the edge. Surely, no one wishes for the end of the world, but a close reading of events cannot rule out pessimistic scenarios. We must not forget that the leaders who are in charge are human beings, after all. Those leaders in charge are driven by purely human impulses, ambitions and fears. Therefore, impulsive decisions that may result from a moment of human weakness or despair cannot be ruled out, especially when it comes to “existential” fears.
We live in an era
in which nuclear buttons have multiplied after they were monopolized by the two
superpowers for a long time. Now there is a nuclear button in China, another
one in North Korea, one in Israel, and perhaps by the end of this year, an
"Iranian" nuclear button will be added to the list!
When Israel started
its nuclear project, it called it "Machar HaKol" in Hebrew, meaning
"Before Everything Is Lost," indicating that Israel would not use
this destructive weapon against Arabs except when its existence is threatened. Just
yesterday, Russia officially announced that the United States and the West pose
an "existential" threat to the country. So, is the moment of pressing
the nuclear button close?
In the poem I referred to at the beginning of the article, the poet considers the two possible ways the world might end: through fire, symbolizing the destructive power of passion, or through ice, representing the cold, calculating nature of hatred. However, humans have evolved and have also developed weapons of destruction. So, the poet's prophecy may come true. The fate of the world may be determined by a human decision that could result from "fiery" or "icy" emotions, but in any case, it will be destructive enough to cause the end of the world. Unless a miracle happens that can melt the layers of the burning Ice!
