One hundred years ago today, on June 28, 1914, St. Vitus Day, an event took place in Sarajevo, Bosnia, which shook the world to its core. The assassination of the Austrian Archduke Ferdinand unleashed the forces that led to World War I. It was called the Great War at the time. Others named it “a war to end all wars.”
One century and over 160 million people who have died since then in more wars and more brutal ways mankind has ever experienced, would make the “war end all wars” a laughable notion, were it not so tragic.
What’s even more tragic is that the US government is showing a complete ignorance of or disregard for history. Washington is recklessly driving the world to yet another “great war” (see this writer’s May 7 editorial “POT OF TROUBLE BREWING JUST LIKE BEFORE WW I“).
And in today’s commemorative story, even our mainstream or “lamestream” media, take your pick, like the New York Times, also found something to cheer about this infamous anniversary (see italics):
“The war destroyed kings, kaisers, czars and sultans; it demolished empires; it introduced chemical weapons, tanks and airborne bombing; it brought millions of women into the workforce, hastening their legal right to vote. It gave independence to nations like Ukraine, Poland and the Baltic countries and created new nations in the Middle East with often arbitrary borders; it brought about major cultural changes, including a new understanding of the psychology of war, of “shell shock” and post-traumatic stress. It also featured the initial step of the United States as a global power. “
Like Washington, the Times almost makes it seem as if the Great War was good for mankind overall, and for the United States. And it conveniently fails to mention a brand new country minted after World War I – Yugoslavia. Which the New World Order a.k.a. Perfidious Washington destroyed in the 1990s.
And, by the way, unlike Yugoslavia, the current Washington and the Times’ darlings – “Ukraine, Poland and the Baltic countries” – had been independent nations in their past long before WW I. So the Times editors are trying to rewrite history to fit the present “politically correct” views. Orwell’s “Big Brother” copycats?
Do they remember that today is also the 625th anniversary of the Battle of Kosovo which marked the start of a 500-year invasion of Europe by the Ottoman Empire? (today’s Turkey). Considering that Washington/NATO have also fought a war against Serbia in 1999 over Kosovo (which is now under their thumb), is that another historical fact they would rather “forget?” (see NATO’s Kosovo War & “Peace” – Mar. 24-Nov. 10, 1999).
Wonder if the power-hungry elitists ever stop to wonder what the relatives of the 160 million people who have died in wars in the last 100 years would have to say about that kind of “progress”?
I suppose not. Because people like our current leaders are driven by greed, ambition, a need to lord over others… instead of Love, Acceptance, Understanding, Nurturing, Compassion and Humility (LAUNCH), the marks of truly great souls.
Fortunately, not everybody is a heartless soul like the current New World Order leaders. Here’s what a British historian told the New York Times:
“The sense that the war was futile and unnecessary still hangs over a lot of the discussion in Britain,” said Lawrence Freedman, professor of war studies at King’s College, London.
In Britain there is also a deep presumption that the generals were incompetent and cold to human sacrifice, that “lions” — the brave ordinary Tommies — were “led by donkeys” like Field Marshal Douglas Haig.
Which is why I feel it is necessary to republish that May 7 editorial I wrote about the start of World War I:
JUST LIKE MAJOR POWERS BEFORE WW I, WASHINGTON IS DRIVING THE WORLD TO WAR
Also see… GANGSTER STATE AMERICA
There is nothing more difficult to carry out nor more doubtful of success nor more dangerous to handle than to initiate a new order of things. [Nicolo Machiavelli (1469 – 1527) – from “The Prince (1513)]
Every time I see another blunder by the would-be creators of the “new” New World Order, I am reminded of the above warning by the father of political maneuvering published 500 years ago in Florence, Tuscany. Guess our new New World Order would-be leaders did not read “The Prince” by Machiavelli. Heck they probably did not even read the history of World War I. Which erupted exactly 100 years ago this summer.
Are they aware that Hitler also claimed to be building a New World Order with his Third Reich? As did the Bolsheviks with their “Communist International” (see New World Order Flag, Nov 21, 1999). And look at them all now…
For, if they had our new NWO builders read history, and had taken to heart Machiavelli’s prophetic wisdom, they would not be treading so happily and carelessly on the dangerous path they are on today.
For the past 2-3 weeks, Elizabeth and I had been watching a fascinating BBC TV series – “Fall of Eagles.” The 13-part program first aired 40 years ago (in 1974). The series portrays historical events from 1848 to 1918, dealing with the ruling dynasties of Europe in Austria-Hungary, Germany, Russia, the Habsburgs, the Hohenzollerns and the Romanovs respectively. The Fall of Eagles happens as a result of World War I.
Everybody knows, I suppose, that the shot that started WW I was fired in Sarajevo, Bosnia, on June 28, 1914 by Gavrilo Princip, a Serb patriot. He assassinated the heir to the Austrian imperial throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand. But the seeds of WW I had been planted much earlier…
What started the ball rolling toward an eventual World War was Austria’s annexation of Bosnia in 1908. The move was supposed to be a part of a secret deal cooked up by Russia’s Foreign Minister Alexander Izvolsky and Austrian Foreign Minister Alois Lexa von Aehrenthal. When Austria acted unilaterally and grabbed Bosnia in Oct 1908, a seething Serbia could hardly believe this action, and demanded Russian intervention. The Russian Tsar acquiesced, invoking the traditional Slavic brotherhood between Russia and Serbia. This left Izvolsky holding the bag.
It took six years of maneuvering and diplomatic doubletalk for the alliances to form which faced off against each other in the summer of 1914. Here are the major players int he war.
By the time the curtain fell on the darkest years in human history before Hitler, about 37 million people died. That was the price of the diplomatic miscalculation by the Russian and Austrian Foreign Ministers.
Yet the world had evidently learned little from this tragedy. Two decades later, Hitler was readying his troops for another war. By the time WW II ended, about 60 million people were killed, about 2.5% of the world population at the time.
And now, we have another world power confrontation brewing between U.S. and Russia. Substitute Bosnia for Ukraine, and you can see why this writer said a few days ago, “it’s just like before WW I.”
So I was very surprised to see that another political analyst made the same analogy in a radio interview back in March. His name is Paul Craig Roberts. He is a former Assistant Secretary of the Treasury in the Reagan Administration. And what he had to say is both true and scary. It never fails to amaze how world leader seem unable to learn from history. Which is why so many of them are doomed to repeat it. Like the Austrian and German emperors 100 years ago, or Hitler 20 years later.