Masters of War

On September 23, 2015, after over 50 years of civil war and 3 years of negotiations, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the Colombian government reached a significant breakthrough in their peace talks. FARC leader Rodrigo Londoño and Colombian president Juan Santos agreed to put an end to the civil war and begin a process of transitional justice in the form of a Special Jurisdiction for Peace. The leaders have agreed to formally sign a document 6 months from now, after which…

they get punished as well? Many people say that these child soldiers should be prosecuted. But I say otherwise. I think that these child soldiers should be considered victims of these crimes. I think this because if there are people too young to be in war, then they shouldn’t be prosecuted, they are manipulated, drugged, and/or forced to get drunk to commit crimes, and finally, these children are becoming soldiers because it is the only option to stay alive First, some may think that anyone who…

People are good. People’s actions are not always so. As the saying goes, bad things happen to good people. Wars happen all around the world every day. Nobody deserves to die. But it happens. Wars are not the only place in which people die before their time. Drive-by shootings happen all the time as do school school shootings. School violence includes more than shootings, though. Bullying is included under that category. There is a plethora of reasons as to why a person would feel the need to…

The world we live in today has many way to make it seem as if we are in a more violent and cruel time than ever before. We see violence strewn across the news and on all forms of social media. This violence is an inevitable part of life some people argue, however many psychologists and behaviourists say otherwise. Whether or not humans are innately violent, we sometimes see that words are in fact more effective than physical strength. When an assembly of people are demanding change from a group…

WHAT IS A HYBRID THREAT? CPT RUSSELL GREENFIELD MICCC 17-005 3RD SQUAD March 30, 2017 A hybrid threat is the diverse and dynamic combination of regular forces, irregular forces, and criminal elements all unified to achieve mutually benefiting effects . While an exact agreed upon definition is a current a topic of debate, it is essentially the blending of multiple types of warfare to exploit the weaknesses of a stronger adversary. Hybrid threats, regardless of the…

The Russian winter was more unforgiving than past years. Which in return made it difficult for the young Soviet sniper to hold his rifle steadily, due to the shaking and trembling of his hands and body. His name is Aleksei Sokolov, he is 18 and he will have been in combat for about 4 months by tomorrow. He used to work under his father in the family’s watch store in Kronstadt in Saint Petersburg, Russia. That is, until Germany broke the non-aggression pact and began invading his motherland.…

The Sniper by Liam O’Flaherty,Suspense Set during the weeks of the long and horrible irish civil war.A brave soldier fight’s back almost getting himself killed multiple times,the confused but brave sniper ends up killing his brother over the war.”Almost immediately,a bullet flattened itself against the parapet of the roof” (O’flaherty page 1) In The Sniper the author creates suspense by the use of timing,action and word choice. The author uses…

Its 1218 and growing up to have no fear, but war and violence is key to the nomadic empire I am a part of. Overlooking my camp, I have spent fifteen years preparing myself to become one of the warriors of a huge army full of fearsome fighters known in Central/Northern Asia, for the rest of my life. Ever since I was young enough to remember, I have been training with horses with hunting and herding them. Now that I am of age to be a part of the military life, I was given four horses to alternate…

Mahatma Gandhi once said, “I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary; the evil it does is permanent.” However, even his peace movements that were heard throughout the world involved some form of violence. Many events preceding the American Revolution solidify the doubts about having violence in this world in order to create change. The Stamp Act riots, the battle of Lexington and Concord, and peace movements around the world promote the idea that…

The Art of Thinking Fall 2015 Violence by Slavoj Zizek (selections) • What is “subjective” violence and how does it differ from “systemic” violence? Subjective violence consists of crime and terror. Perceptibly obvious violence seen on the news or on the streets in the form of “crime and terror, civil unrest, international conflict.” Systemic violence represents the catastrophic effects of economic and political systems. • Who are “liberal communists”? Does Zizek admire them? Why or why not…